ManitobaA Winnipeg high school football player is being treated in intensive care after suffering a serious neck injury during the opening kickoff of a game on Friday, and then undergoing surgery.Lineman fielded kickoff and suffered injury during tackle, superintendent saysBartley Kives · CBC News · Posted: Oct 20, 2025 8:14 PM EDT | Last Updated: 38 minutes agoGrade 12 student Darius Hartshorne, a lineman for the Sisler Spartans, suffered a serious neck injury during the opening kickoff of an Oct. 17 game against the Tec Voc Hornets. (Submitted/DGN Photos)A Winnipeg high school football player is being treated in intensive care after suffering a serious neck injury during the opening kickoff of a game on Friday and then undergoing surgery.Darius Hartshorne, who plays on both the offensive and defensive lines for the Sisler Spartans, was injured during the first play of an Oct. 17 game against the Tec Voc Hornets.Jeffrey Bannon, the commissioner of the Winnipeg High School Football League, said the entire league is shocked by an injury and subsequent surgery he described as life-changing for the Grade 12 student at Sisler High School.“Darius is still in the hospital, in ICU and has begun breathing on his own, and we are waiting for the swelling to subside to find out the full extent of what his road to recovery in what capacity and what the future will hold for him and his family,” Bannon said Monday in a statement.“We don’t know what the future will hold. All we know is that we’ll be here for him, his family and his teammates.”Matt Henderson, superintendent of the Winnipeg One School Division, said Hartshorne received the opening kickoff during the Spartans game against Tec Voc and was injured when he was tackled.“These types of injuries are very rare,” Henderson said in a telephone interview. “This is a unique circumstance. You know, coaches in Winnipeg School Division and other high school teams are excellent at coaching how to tackle.”Hartshorne previously played with the North Winnipeg Nomads. Sisler head coach Mike Esselmont described the injured lineman as “one of the nicest, kindest young men” he ever coached, according to Bannon’s statement.Henderson said staff and students at Sisler were made aware of the injury on Monday. Psychologists and social workers have been made available to work with them, if need be, the superintendent said.Tec Voc players were also informed on Monday, he said.A GoFundMe page has been set up to assist Hartshorne’s family, which may need to renovate their home following the injury, Bannon said.
Winnipeg high school student in ICU following serious neck injury on football field
