--- description: A Long Island high school junior died late Wednesday after colliding with an opponent in a varsity football game. title: Long Island High Schooler Dies After Football Collision image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Football](/tag/football/) ## Football Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Long Island High Schooler Dies After Football Collision  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 2, 2014 12:18 PM CUT  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 2, 2014 12:18 PM CUT A Long Island high school junior [died](http://www.newsday.com/sports/high-school/football/tom-cutinella-shoreham-wading-river-football-player-dies-after-collision-in-game-authorities-say-1.9456831?firstfree=yes "undefined") late Wednesday after colliding with an opponent in a varsity football game. Tom Cutinella, a junior at Shoreham-Wading River High School who plays guard/linebacker on the school’s football team, was pronounced dead after sustaining a head injury in the third quarter of the afternoon game, _Newsday_ reports. Cutinella was hospitalized after the hit and placed in the intensive-care unit after undergoing surgery. His death came as a shock to the community and to the 60 friends, relatives and teammates waiting in the hospital, Newsday reports. “We’re a small community and we’re all devastated,” Jack Costas, a member of the Shoreham-Wading River school board told Newsday. “It’s always tragic when someone so young and so full of life has their life ended. It’s going to be a very, very difficult road ahead from this.” The risks of injury and death [in football have come under increasing scrutiny](http://time.com/3397085/the-tragic-risks-of-american-football/ "undefined") in the wake of tragic deaths of high school football players and growing evidence that the game can have long-term effects on professional players. Two other high school student players have died of potentially football-related injuries since Friday, [according](http://espn.go.com/espn/story/%5F/id/11626686/high-school-football-player-dies-suffering-head-injury-third-recent-death "undefined") to ESPN. \[[_Newsday_](http://www.newsday.com/sports/high-school/football/tom-cutinella-shoreham-wading-river-football-player-dies-after-collision-in-game-authorities-say-1.9456831?firstfree=yes "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3455884/high-school-football-death/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3455884/high-school-football-death/"},"headline":"Long Island High Schooler Dies After Football Collision","datePublished":"2014-10-02T12:18:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:32:42.177Z","description":"Tom Cutinella is the third high school football player to have died in recent days.","url":"https://time.com/3455884/high-school-football-death/","keywords":["Football","Sports topic","High School","Students"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/football/","name":"Football"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3455884/high-school-football-death/","name":"Long Island High Schooler Dies After Football Collision"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Football’s Ultimate Cost: The Chad Stover Story","description":"It was halloween night, and the Tipton Cardinals needed a tackle. 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