Boron High football player dies from injuries sustained in game
HIGH SCHOOLS
Vinnie Rodriguez, a sophomore, had been in intensive care since sustaining the head injuries while making a tackle on Friday.
Vinnie Rodriguez, a sophomore running back and safety at Boron High, died Tuesday night at Loma Linda Medical Center from head injuries suffered last Friday during the Bobcats' game against Riverside California School for the Deaf, Boron Principal Paul Kostopoulos said this morning.
Rodriguez had been in intensive care since sustaining the injuries while making a tackle, but his condition had appeared to stabilize before taking a turn for the worse Tuesday night.
The Bobcats had originally voted to play Friday's game against Lake Isabella Kern Valley after Rodriguez was injured, but those plans are now up in the air, Kostopoulos said. Boron will hold a spaghetti dinner fundraiser Thursday evening in the school cafeteria to help defray Rodriguez's medical costs.
After practice Tuesday afternoon, Boron Coach Todd Fink said his players were struggling to deal with the situation.
"I don't think that anybody prepares themselves for something like this or that there's a handbook on how to cope with something like this," he said. "You don't want to see a family member go down at any time, and that's what happened."
Funeral services are pending for Rodriguez, who was being raised by a grandmother who was also the guardian of Rodriguez's three younger brothers.
ben.bolch@latimes.com
