Clayton student Braden Fahey dies after football practice

CLAYTON, Calif. - The residents of the small town of Clayton are mourning the loss of one of their own youngsters who died unexpectedly over the weekend. 

Braden Fahey, a second year student at Diablo View Middle School, passed away Sunday, two days after he suffered a severe medical emergency playing football.

Emergency officials were called to Clayton Valley Charter High School last Friday evening, when he fell seriously ill.

"Braden was a great student, always had great grades, obviously a ray of sunshine and he was a friendly kid," said Diablo View Middle School Principal Peter Fong. "He had lots of friends,"  

Mount Diablo Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Adam Clark wrote to parents in the district urging them to talk to their children and take advantage of grief counselors that will be on hand. 

"The death of a friend and loved one is tragic, and a sudden tragedy like this can have a profound effect on surviving students and the community at large, which is absolutely the case here," said Fong. "Clayton, with just 11,000 people is a very small town, and when a child dies everyone here, is shocked by it, suffers through it and everybody here is trying to help the family get through it."

Because he was so active in various sports most in the community knew of Braden and his family, said Fong.

A GoFundMe account was set up in his honor to help his family deal with funeral and medical bills has already raised almost $100,000.

"So, that just tells you how much love there is for the family," said Fong.

Thursday, the first day of school at Diablo View Middle School, schoolmates will wear blue in his honor and on Monday, they will wear sports shirts and jerseys representing Braden's love of his teams and his favorite Bay Area teams.