Assistant football coach at Arkansas high school dies after collapse

Hampton High School assistant football coach Jorre McMahan died Tuesday afternoon after collapsing at the school's practice.

He was 26.

Hampton Coach Wes Ables said the Bulldogs were practicing defensive drills when McMahan, who was helping the scout-team offense, collapsed.

"It was like he had been shot," Ables said Tuesday night. "We thought he was playing at first. But I rolled him over and knew something was wrong."

Ables called the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office in Hampton at approximately 4:20 p.m. and an ambulance from the Calhoun County Ambulance Service transported McMahan to the Ouachita County Medical Center, which is about 25 miles west of Hampton.

McMahan arrived at the hospital at 5:46 p.m. and was pronounced dead at 5:56 p.m., Ouachita County Coroner Sylvester Smith told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Tuesday.

Smith said an investigation is ongoing and an autopsy is expected to be released Thursday.

Ables said he and the rest of the Hampton football team followed the ambulance to Camden and said prayers for McMahan.

McMahan was in his first season as an assistant at Hampton after spending two seasons at Barton under Van Paschal. He played high school football at Bauxite and in college at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. McMahan graduated from Bauxite in 2008 and from UAM in 2013.

Ables hired McMahan to coach Hampton's offensive line in the spring. He was also a social studies teacher at Hampton Middle School.

"He was a great guy and a great coach," Ables said. "I was thrilled to death to get him hired. He had been a big help to me. He was a perfect fit for me as a head coach. He was loyal, hard-working and loved the game. He really worked the kids hard. He had high expectations of them. He's everything you want in an assistant coach.

"This is tough. It is tough to lose somebody like that."

Hampton will not practice today, and Ables said grief counselors will be on hand at the school for both students and faculty.

Ables said Hampton's 8-2A Conference game at Camden Harmony Grove may be rescheduled. Camden Harmony Grove Coach Tony Chambers called Ables on Tuesday and told him they'll play whenever they're able to.

"We're not going to attempt to go to a funeral and play a football game on the same day," Ables said.

One year after not fielding a team, Hampton is 4-0 and 1-0 in the 8-2A. The Bulldogs have averaged more than 50 points per game and allowed 15.0 points defensively.

"Everything is going great," Ables said, "then you hit a wall. Our kids aren't going to take life for granted after this."

McMahan, who lived in Warren, is survived by his wife of less than four months Alexis and his father Johnny, a former mayor of Bauxite, mother Jan and sister Jacie. He was preceded in death by his brother Johnny III.

Sports on 09/28/2016

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