Lake Travis High School football team cancels season opener amid death of senior player

LAKE TRAVIS, Texas - The Lake Travis High School varsity football team has decided to cancel its season opener due to the recent death of one of its seniors, Odin Hensley.

According to head coach Hank Carter, he has been focusing on the well-being of his players, staff and the community, and decided that his team will not play their season opener against Dripping Springs. 

What's next:

Lake Travis will now open the season against Weiss High School on Sept. 4 in Pflugerville.

What they're saying:

You can read the full statement below:

"Dear Football Parents and Families,

Thank you for your continued support of our program.  We truly appreciate everything you do for our players and coaches. 

The past two weeks have been incredibly difficult for everyone involved. After careful consideration and with the physical and mental safety of our players and staff as our top priority, we have made the decision to cancel our football games against Dripping Springs next week.

It is possible that our Freshman, JV, and Varsity teams could still match up with Dripping Springs in a controlled scrimmage. We will not be able to make a final decision on that until over the weekend and will communicate any update as soon as it is available.

Thank you again for your understanding and support."

What happened to Odin Hensley?

The backstory:

Hensley died after a medical emergency during practice last week. It was later revealed he had suffered cardiac arrest.

"He was an incredible kid," Carter said. He was built like a Mack truck. I mean, just a big, strong, powerful, all-state wrestler, star of the offensive line for us. Just the nicest kid."

The cause of Hensley’s cardiac arrest has not been revealed. 

Family accepting donations

What you can do:

A GoFundMe page has been set up for Hensley’s family.

Lake TravisHigh School SportsSports