Garden Grove player was 'heart and soul' of the team

GARDEN GROVE - He was the "heart and soul" of his football team, a disciplined, talented athlete who lived for football and considered it his greatest passion.

When 17-year-old Kevin Telles died Friday night after collapsing on the field at a Garden Grove High School football game, the news sent shock waves through his close-knit community of teammates, friends and fans.

"He was just an incredible player … He gave it his all," said teammate Noe Guerrero, a Garden Grove High senior. "During halftime, we were talking about, 'Kevin, you’ve got to lead this team. You’ve got to lay someone out.'

"It was just ironic that it was him on the floor. He could do it all. … He was laying people out the whole game."

A makeshift memorial adorned with candles and balloons quickly sprung up in front of Garden Grove High. On Saturday morning, many of Telles' teammates gathered at the center of the school's football field to reminisce about their fallen teammate. They wore the school’s colors, red and black. The players also spent part of the morning writing letters to Telles' family.

(UPDATE: Viewing and funeral services have been scheduled)

"He's a good man … one of the best," said first-year coach Joe Hay. "Anything you would ask out of a kid from a coach, he did all those things. … He was just the heart and soul of this program."

When the stories were over, the football players huddled one last time. They shouted "Kevin Telles!" before somberly leaving the field.

"Everyone just got a chance to pay their respect," Hay said. "Some kids chose to speak. Some kids chose not to. I thought it was the best thing to do for Kevin and our guys."

Telles, a 6-foot, 206-pound linebacker/fullback who lived in Santa Ana, died late Friday at Huntington Beach Hospital after collapsing late in Garden Grove High’s football game at Westminster High.

He dropped to the field with about 1 minute, 30 seconds remaining in the game. Driving deep in the Lions' territory, Garden Grove called a running play that required Telles, playing fullback, to block the defensive end, Hay said.

Telles didn’t find anyone to block on the play and moved downfield, Hay said. Then, without any contact on the play, the high school senior collapsed and was seen convulsing.

"It wasn’t a collision; it wasn’t a hit," Hay said. "He just collapsed. He was gasping for air. … It was just Kevin's time."

Game officials ended the game at that point. Garden Grove won, 9-0.

"He was going for a hit," said his brother, Robert Telles, 18, who was at the game. "He was a great football player."

Coroner’s officials performed an autopsy Saturday, but said they were unable to determine the cause of death and that they were waiting for more test results and further study.

Hay said Telles had been cleared by a physical examination to play.

"He went out doing what he loved," said his brother, Edgar Garduno, 22. "He trained every day. He did conditioning. He went to the gym every day. … He watched what he ate. He didn’t eat junk food. He just wanted to be the best at football."

Telles' favorite professional player was Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"He was my Troy Polamalu," said Robert Telles, who graduated from Garden Grove High last year and also was on the football team.

Telles lived and breathed football, his brothers said.

"Honestly his football was mostly all his passion," Robert Telles said. "Football was his everything and he proved it on that field last night that it was everything."

Off the field, Telles also was known for his skills for preparing spicy barbeque chicken. He also enjoyed spending time with his large family.

Telles' brothers said he had played football since his freshman year at Garden Grove, which kept him on a straight path.

"Before freshman year he wasn’t doing anything. He was just chilling," Robert Telles said about his brother. "He didn’t know much about football and he didn’t even have any goals and football gave him that extra push, the extra motivation to do more … He just kept going."

"People looked up to him," Garduno said.

Telles' death is the first in Orange County in nearly eight years related to a football game.

Matthew Colby of Costa Mesa High died Sept. 29, 2001, from bleeding and swelling of the brain. He collapsed and lost consciousness in the Sept. 28 game's first quarter, just minutes after complaining to Costa Mesa coaches of a headache and nausea. Colby was pronounced brain dead the morning after the game.

A study prepared by the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury reported that in high school football nationwide that in 2008 there were seven deaths directly related to participation in football activities. That was the most since 2001, when there were eight. In 2008, there were 0.47 directly-related deaths per 100,000 participants.