JERSEY SHORE – A Jersey Shore football player who collapsed during a game at Selinsgrove September 8 has died. 17-year-old Max Engle died Friday, the family announced Saturday afternoon via the Jersey Shore Area School District Facebook page.
The family says Max fought hard all week, but he ‘needed to move on to fulfill a greater purpose.’ The family says Max has always tried bringing people together throughout his life and feels he has during this time. The family also expressed ‘immense gratitude and appreciation’ for all the love and support.
Engle collapsed on the sideline with 11 seconds remaining in the game at Selinsgrove, forcing the game to be called a tie. He was taken off the field in an ambulance and was hospitalized ever since.
The district announced earlier this week Max’s condition was rapidly declining, and people around the region have been showing their support for the family in various ways.
Jersey Shore’s game with Shikellamy originally scheduled for last Friday night will be played Monday night at 7:05 p.m. at Jersey Shore. WKOK will have coverage of the game beginning with pregame at 6:30 p.m. The game will also still be shown on the WKOK Sports YouTube Channel as well.
You can see the full message from the Engle family below:
Update from the Engle Family:
We would like to begin by sharing our immense gratitude and appreciation for the love and support given to our family in this difficult time. The huge outpouring of thoughts and prayers have been of great comfort to us during this time. Max has been fighting hard throughout this week, but he needed to move on to fulfill a greater purpose. On Friday, September 15th, he joined the Lord and those who loved him and have gone before him. Please know he felt all your love and prayers.
Through his life, he has tried to bring people together. We feel he has been bringing people together during this time of uncertainty. We choose to believe he is proudly smiling at this unification of community. The generous gifts you have bestowed upon our family will be used to honor Max as well as to move forward a message of togetherness, community and love.
Max was a warrior on the football field and fought hard to earn a place amongst his Brothers in Orange. He had respect for his coaches and competitors. Above all, was his loyalty to his teammates. We are thinking of them during this time and are also praying for all those who have been affected by this tragedy.
Max was lucky to have a close group of friends that were like family. We are holding them close to our hearts.
Our family feels immensely blessed to have spent 17 beautiful years with Max. It is difficult not to feel cheated, but we are trying to focus on how fortunate we are to have had him in our lives. He will be greatly missed every single day and we know he will be with us in everything we do. Although Max’s next adventure is not what we thought, we know he is doing greater things than we had hoped for him.
Love,
Josh, Heather, Maddy, Travis, and Evelyn
