D'Iberville football player died from sudden cardiac death (updated 12:45 p.m.)

JACKSON COUNTY – A D’Iberville running back who collapsed at a football game Friday night died from sudden cardiac death, officials said.

Latrell “Fred” Dunbar collapsed on the Gautier High School field after he was hit in a play. Jackson County Coroner Vicki Broadus pronounced him dead at 9:50 p.m. at Ocean Springs Hospital.

An autopsy performed today by state pathologist Paul McGarry shows Dunbar died from "sudden cardiac death". "There were no injuries whatsoever. No fractures of any kind," Broadus said. Coach Buddy Singleton said video shows Dunbar taking a hit.

“There was a lick when he was blocking, but he got hit from the side on his shoulder,” the coach said after watching the replay this morning.

Singleton said the hit knocked the junior off balance. He took 10 to 15 steps, then fell. “You could see him kind of stumble and he fell,” Singleton said. “I don’t think he ever regained consciousness after that.” Singleton said Dunbar moved here with his parents last year from Glen Oaks High School in Baton Rouge.

Dunbar played some with the D’Iberville team his sophomore year. Singleton said he was a “good kid” who made good grades. “He showed me his report card yesterday. He had 3 A’s and a C,” he said. “He was a good student, good athlete. Everybody liked him. He always had a smile on his face. An all-American kid.”

Singleton said the players rallied to finish the game against Gautier, which they won 17-14. “They said, ‘We want to win it for Fred. We want to play,’” he said.

He was on the bus headed back to D’Iberville when they got the news. “The team was broken up. We stayed with them for a while,” he said. Coaching staff then visited the parents. Area pastors were at the school Friday night to meet with players, cheerleaders, band members and staff, he said.

Singleton didn’t know today if they would still be hosting Long Beach on Friday night. He planned to discuss it with school administrators. Counselors will be available to students and staff Monday, he said. “It’s going to be touch here for a while,” he said.

Acadian Ambulance Service had an ambulance on site Friday night and emergency personnel were on the field immediately, said spokesman Bennie French. The ambulance parked nearby was on the field within minutes, he said.

Trainers and emergency personnel performed CPR on Dunbar for about 15 minutes before he was taken by ambulance to the hospital.

SunHerald.com updates this story as details become available.