Family members, friends and teammates were praying Monday for a quick recovery of a high school football player hospitalized after suffering a head injury during a game.
Bruce Henderson, a senior at Sultana High School in Hesperia, was hurt during a game Friday night.
His coach, Keith Locklear, said he's had players go to the emergency room for concussions before, but he has seen nothing like this.
Locklear said Henderson made a tackle at the end of their game and ended up in a helmet-to-helmet collision, after which he hit his head on the ground.
A few minutes later, he said Henderson became delirious and started having seizures.
He was rushed to the hospital where he underwent emergency brain surgery.
Locklear said he does what he can between safety gear and game strategy to keep players and their brains safe.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
"We've tried everything that we can to take the head out of the game," Locklear said. "At every level from youth to college to pros, I think that there's been major progress. And it's very tough to say that when there's a young man lying in a bed right now."
Support from neighbors in Hesperia and the football community is visible online through tweets and photos about the star senior football player.
Locklear said Henderson has been improving, even opening his eyes and giving a thumbs up in the past 24 hours.
Family members have set up a website to help the family with expenses.
