1,500+ attend funeral for Ark. high school player

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Friends and family members are remembering an Arkansas high school football player who collapsed and died after football practice.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/p6a00E) reports that more than 1,500 people attended Wednesday’s funeral at a Gurdon High School auditorium for 15-year-old Montel Jaymel Williams.

According to an autopsy report, Williams died Aug. 9 of a pre-existing heart condition.

Members of the Gurdon High School football team attended the service in their jerseys, and football team members from nearby Prescott also attended.

School District Superintendent Alan Blackwell called Williams a good kid, a good student and a good teammate.

Blackwell also said the team plans to honor Williams with patches and other memorials, as well as recognize him at a ceremony before the first home game of the season on Sept. 23.