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West Haven High School football player dies five days before team’s CIAC championship game

A week of celebration and anticipation ahead of their school’s first state championship game in 20 years turned to heartbreak when West Haven’s football players learned Tuesday morning that one of their teammates had died, unexpectedly.

Christopher Fidalgo-Pugh, a sophomore lineman, died Tuesday morning at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital, West Haven’s coach Rich Boshea said. He was 15 years old.

“This news has deeply impacted our school community, and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends during this incredibly difficult time. He was not only an integral part of our school’s athletic community but also a bright and cherished member of our student body,” West Haven High School Principal Dana Paredes said in a letter shared with parents and posted on Facebook. “The loss of such a promising young life is profoundly felt by us all.”

Paredes added in the letter that counseling services would be available on campus for those who may need assistance.

The cause of death was not immediately known.

Listed at 5-foot-8, 260 pounds, Fidalgo-Pugh was a reserve player who dressed in the team’s final regular season game vs. Fairfield Prep Nov. 22.

He wasn’t in attendance for the school’s two state playoff games Tuesday and Sunday. Boshea said he learned on Monday from Fidalgo-Pugh’s mother that he was in intensive care.

“We don’t really know what happened,” Boshea said from the team’s practice Tuesday afternoon. “It’s just awful. We’re all in disbelief.

West Haven is set to play Staples in the Class LL championship game Saturday, 5 p.m. at Central Connecticut State’s Arute Field in New Britain.

“Most of the seniors didn’t know him as well, but he was really popular with the other sophomores and freshmen… He was a hard working kid,” Boshea said.

https://www.ctinsider.com/gametimect/football/article/christopher-fidalgo-pugh-west-haven-football-dies-18535329.php

West Haven High School football player dies five days before team’s CIAC championship game
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