LAKE CITY, SC (WBTW) – Last Friday night the Lake City High School football team was setting off to celebrate a win over Georgetown when their coach, Lorenzo McFadden, went into cardiac arrest and fell unconscious while loading the bus.
Now, he’s recovering at MUSC in Charleston thanks to the help of one of his football players.
On the field, coaches say Everett Sanders can play any position.
“You know, it’s all about a brotherhood. You know, seeing someone that you love down, it puts a big impact on the whole team,” said Sanders.
Sanders says his most important position was played last Friday night when he helped save coach McFadden’s life.
Head coach Terrell Fleming says he was the first person to find McFadden unconscious.
“I was like ‘Woah!’ you know, because coach Lo is a tough guy. I’m telling you, he’s tough, and I saw him on the ground. I thought maybe he was just lying there, and I bent down and I said ‘Coach Lo, Coach Lo’. He wasn’t moving so I rolled him over, and he was not responsive. You know, his chest wasn’t moving up and down so that let me know he wasn’t breathing, and, you know, he didn’t have a pulse either,” said Fleming.
Many players say they were terrified, but Sanders says he sprang into action.
“Me and Coach Graham started tilting his neck back so his airway could be opened up, and me and coach Graham started doing chest compressions. It was sad, it was sad,” said Sanders.
The 17-year-old is a volunteer firefighter and became CPR certified just two weeks ago.
“You can tell that he’s been prepped for it. I mean, he wasn’t nervous at all. I mean he just jumped right in, he just jumped right in and you know, he was ready to go,” said Fleming.
Everett says he was ready to go, for both his coach and his team.
At Wednesday’s practice, the team said they now have one goal for Friday – to win the game for Coach McFadden.
McFadden says what his player did for him “touched his heart”, but Sanders says he was just doing his job.
After college, Sanders says he hopes to continue to help people as a full-time firefighter.
