A seemingly routine play turned quickly tragic on Friday night in Phoenix, N.Y., as a student-athlete was declared dead roughly two hours after sustaining a head injury during a high school football game.
Ridge Barden, a 16-year-old junior at John C. Birdlebough High School, got his first varsity start on Friday night as a defensive tackle. In the third quarter, with the opposing Homer High School nearing the end zone, the Homer team ran a routine run play on third down and got stuffed short of the goal line.
The