Gwinnett teen football player had enlarged heart

SNELLVILLE -- The Gwinnett County medical examiner's office said it appears that a 13-year-old who died after about two hours of football practice had a heart attack.

Ted Bailey, chief investigator for the county medical examiner, said an autopsy revealed that Jacheem Xavier had an enlarged heart.

Bailey said it will be 12 weeks before test results can determine the cause for certain. The symptoms his trainer described fit those of a heart attack.

Xavier died Monday night at Eastside Medical Center.

The 6-foot-1, 230-pound eighth-grader was doing conditioning with teammates at Shiloh High School. Youth league president Erik Richards said he began vomiting shortly after a two-hour workout that began at 7 p.m. and then lost consciousness.

Richards says it is the first on-field death in his 19 years with the league.