Georgia high school senior football player Antwon Carter drowns on trip with teammates week before school starts

A Georgia high school senior football player died just a week before school started after drowning while on a last-minute trip with teammates, according to the player’s head coach.

Antwon Carter, 17, a starting linebacker on Heard County High School’s football team, was confirmed dead after the school made an announcement on their official Facebook Tuesday.

Carter was jumping off rocks into the water with three of his teammates at a park near Fort Payne, Alabama, when a strong current swept him under, according to Times-Georgian Newspaper.

Heard County head football coach Shane Lasseter said Carter was running behind a rock when he got caught in the current.

Lasseter said Carter’s teammates couldn’t reach him in time, as they could only watch their friend take his last breath.

“It’s not only a tragic event of him passing, but of them experiencing that entire thing, as well,” Lasseter stated.

The 6-foot Carter was described as the “most well-liked kid in the whole entire school,” as Lasseter said the teen’s death is “affecting a lot of kids.”

“To know Antwon was to love him. He had the most contagious smile in the world,” a heartfelt message posted to the football team’s Twitter reads. “He was a friend to so many and a brother to everyone who shared a locker room with him.”

Lasseter immediately canceled practice once he received the tragic news, and instead welcomed a local pastor to speak to the team.

The timing of Carter’s death comes days before Heard County Schools are scheduled to begin classes Monday.

Carter was a potential college football prospect, but never made a formal announcement on his Twitter account to where he was committing to, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.

“His smile — it was just infectious. He was one of the most positive kids that I’ve ever been around,” Lasseter added.

“He was one of the most well-liked and respected kids in our entire school and community and has never been disrespectful.”

The Heard County High School football program is still getting over another player whose life was taken from them last summer.

Hunter Huey, a rising freshman on the football team, died after a freak side-by-side ATV accident, according to Times Georgian.

“Unfortunately, it’s been two years in a row that this team has had to deal with tragic situations,” Lasseter said.

Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced for Carter.