Sutton High School student dies playing football

SUTTON, Mass. -- On the field, 16-year-old Michael Ellsessar wore No. 99. But, to his parents and two brothers, he was always No. 1.

“He did it all. He was always active. He was always just a great and wonderful kid,” said John Ellsessar, Michael’s father.

Sadly, Michael died doing what he loved, after he collapsed on the football field during a junior varsity game.

“It’s just that when he got hit. You know, when your heart’s beating and kind of that skip in between, that’s when he got hit,” said Ellsessar.

Michael, a sophomore at Sutton High School, played wide receiver for Oxford High football. The two schools co-op their programs.

His team was playing in Warren, when the three-sport athlete got hit early in the game.

Students who saw it said it looked like a normal hit.

“He was perfectly fine. He caught a pass for 20 yards or something. My friend had him but he couldn’t get him down, so this other kid came running and hit him,” said Clifford Walters, a student who attended the game.

Michael apparently got up, tossed the ball to the referee, and then fell to the ground. The ref immediately began CPR, and paramedics rushed him to the hospital, but the teen died before his family could get there.

“The Oxford football family reacted as anyone would. It was a very sharp, saddened, sudden loss,” said Allen Himmelberger, the Oxford school superintendent.

“The mood is very somber. I’ve never seen a building so quiet in my life,” said Ted Friend, the Sutton school superintendent.

Both Oxford High and Sutton High offered grief counselors to students at the schools. Michael was described as being very active and popular, and already extremely missed.

“He played the three sports. He played life to its fullest. He played his game to the fullest. He tried his hardest at everything he did,” said Dean Messier, a family friend.

“No 16-year-old deserves what my son has. No parent deserves to bury their 16-year-old son. Hug your kids if you have them, keep them close and watch out for them. God be with them. God be with you,” said Ellsessar.

The superintendent said that the grief counselors were available all day Tuesday to students, and that the school will be open late for any students that want to stay or come back.

The Worcester DA, Joseph Early, said that Michael’s death appears to be a tragic accident, but Michael’s family said the Medical Examiner’s office will perform an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.

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