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ME: Staten Island High School Football Player Who Collapsed During Practice Died Of Heart Condition

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A rising Staten Island high school football star, who died last month after collapsing on the field, died of a heart condition and heat was not a factor, according to the medical examiner's office.

Curtis High School student Miles Kirkland-Thomas, 16, collapsed during practice on Sept. 1, which was one of the hottest, most humid days of the year. Kirkland-Thomas was in cardiac arrest when an ambulance rushed him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The medical examiner's office said Tuesday that the teen died of natural causes. The cause of death was hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart muscle becomes thick, according to the medical examiner. Obesity was listed as a contributing factor.

Kirkland-Thomas was a leader at home and on the team. He had big plans to earn a football scholarship to go to college.

"He was a good kid, he was a hardworking kid, he loved football," teammate Amad Anderson told WCBS 880's Sean Adams last month. "The whole football team loved him, all the parents on the football team loved him. He always looked out for your kid."

At the housing development where he lived, Kirkland-Thomas was a role model who viewed football as more than a hobby. Loved ones said it was his ticket to escaping a life of poverty.

"Living in the projects, you see kids doing different things," said family friend Anthony Royal. "This kid was into football, church. There's not too many kids like that, you know? And it's heartbreaking. It's tragic."

The teen was a 6-foot-2, 320-pound defensive lineman.Kirkland-Thomas had passed a physical in the summer and his family was not aware of any pre-existing conditions, his father had told the Daily News.

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