Lake Norman Charter-Hickory Grove Christian cancel Friday’s football game after student’s sudden death

Friday’s scheduled high school football game between Lake Norman Charter and Hickory Grove Christian was canceled after the sudden death of a popular Hickory Grove student-athlete.

Hickory Grove senior basketball player Mark Lewis died Thursday.

Hickory Grove boys’ basketball coach Titus Ivory said Lewis lifted weights and followed that with a run Thursday. During the run, he collapsed. Attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.

Ivory said funeral arrangements are incomplete.

“Everybody was shocked at school,” Ivory said of Lewis, a former football player at the school who was 6-foot-1 and was receiving college basketball recruiting interest from Johnson C. Smith.

“Mark was the stereotypical student-athlete. He had a great personality and he was a very humble and good kid. He had a nice attitude and everybody loved him.

“To have someone who has such a strong presence at the school to take this drastic a turn was tough.”

Lake Norman Charter and Hickory Grove were scheduled to play at 7 p.m. Friday at Hickory Grove. Lake Norman Charter interim principal Craig Smith said the game would not be rescheduled.

This story was originally published August 21, 2015 at 3:30 PM with the headline "Lake Norman Charter-Hickory Grove Christian cancel Friday’s football game after student’s sudden death."