One was a South Carolina teenager while the other was a grandfather in Florida. One played defensive end, and the other coached linebackers.

They were separated by about a half century in age, but both were considered large for their size and both died on a Friday night.

Death has a way of sometimes occurring on the football field, and it doesn’t matter how many prayers are said or how fast paramedics respond to the scene. Unfortunately, things happen.

Reports about the death of Ronald Rouse hit the Internet late Friday, just as high school games in Arkansas were wrapping up. When I finally had an opportunity to read about the 18-year-old senior from Hartsville, S.C., I couldn’t help but think about another man who collapsed on a field and died.

George Davis.

Rouse’s death sounded much like how Davis passed away Nov. 29, 2002.

Both men seemed fi ne, and then they just went down. Their situations appeared harmless at first, but they quickly got serious. As CPR was performed, coaches and players huddled nearby, praying for the best but instead witnessing the worst.

I read the reports about Rouse’s death. I had no choice but to watch Davis pass away in person. As a sports writer in Jacksonville, Fla., I couldn’t leave. I just had to stand there and take notes on everything that happened.

Davis was known as “Pop,” 66 years old and a hard-nosed linebacker coach at Trinity Christian in Jacksonville. He collapsed on the 7-yard line as his team began celebrating a 34-7 win at P.K. Yonge in a state semifi nal game a decade ago.

A player standing a few feet from me immediately started shouting for help. I had no idea what the teenager was hollering about until I saw Davis lying on the grass. The mood inside the stadium quickly changed as paramedics worked frantically to save Pop, but it didn’t work.

As one of Davis’ family members later told me, the coach died on a football field, which is where he would have wanted it. Still, nothing about the situation seemed poetic at the time.

Information about Rouse’s death is still being gathered, and it’ll surely come out during the next few days. According to The Morning News of Florence (S.C.), the defensive end remained motionless on the ground after his Hartsville teammates made a tackle in their game against Crestwood.

After several minutes, Rouse managed to walk off the field with the help of his coaches, according to the newspaper. Play briefl y resumed, but then he collapsed again.

Like Davis, Rouse was rushed to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead. Nothing about the teenager’s death sounds poetic. So what if Friday was homecoming for his school?

Coaches like to say football teaches players about life. It shows them how to be disciplined, work hard and play as a team. Sometimes, though, it teaches them about death as well.

There are those rare times when it’s more appropriate for a team to say a Hail Mary than throw one.

Friday in Hartsville was one of those times.

ALEX ABRAMS IS ASSISTANT

SPORTS EDITOR FOR NWA MEDIA.