FENNVILLE, Mich. — It was the perfect shot to end a perfect season. Then came the tragedy so unthinkable it didn’t seem real.
Wes Leonard’s game-winning layup in overtime brought the Fennville High School crowd to its feet, and teammates and fans surrounded their star player. A moment later, Leonard, 16, collapsed and died.
A day later, with the death blamed on an enlarged heart, this small town near Lake Michigan remembered an “all-American kid” whose athletic heroics had been local legend since middle school, when opposing coaches sometimes asked to see his birth certificate, not believing someone so young could be so skilled.
“He was a good kid, a good friend to have and a good person to hang around with,” DeMarcus McGee, who played football and basketball with Leonard, said between sobs. “You never thought it could be him. He was so healthy.”
On Thursday, Leonard sent the ball through the hoop from close range with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game. The final shot gave Fennville a 57-55 win over Bridgman High and a 20-0 regular season.
After the teams exchanged handshakes, Fenn-ville players scrambled together for a team photo to commemorate their undefeated record. That’s when the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Leonard collapsed.
