A brain of a Northeast American football player dead after collapsing during Friday night's game, said his mother

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – A Northeast High School football player died of brain damage after being collapsed during Friday night's match, according to the teenage mother.

After a tackle in the group, Jacquez Welch, 17, never got up. Paramedics took Welch to Bayfront Hospital, where the doctors discovered a pre-existing brain disease that nobody knew anything about.

They say that Jacquez was born with an arteriovenous malformation, also known as MAV. It is an abnormal connection between the arteries and the veins of the brain.

Marcia Nelson, his mother, was in the stands when that happened. She said Monday at a press conference that her son was brain dead and that his collapse had nothing to do with this sport.

"I do not want anyone to be afraid of the sport," Nelson said. "It happened to him very young, doing what he liked to do."

Nelson said the family was working to make his son a donor for seven people. The family plans to remove Jacquez from his survival system on Monday night, after a walk of honor at 22 hours. at the Bayfront Hospital.

"I'm happy, it's not something I can control," said Nelson calmly.

Nelson said that Jacquez was a generous person and that he would be proud that his organs were used to save other lives. Nelson said that football was his passion. He was also an older brother who served as a model for his brothers and sisters.

Jacquez has a grade point average of 4.0 and has just received a full scholarship for Concordia University.

"I was so proud of him.He was just scared to go to college," said his father, Tory Larkins.

"We're going to get away with it," said his teammate and friend, Kev 'Vaae Leland.

Coach Jeremy Frioud and Leland kissed with tears running down their faces. Jacquez's thought of not coming out of Bayfront is heartbreaking.

"He was one of the toughest players on the team," Frioud said.

Neurosurgeon Kirk Jobe of Bayfront Hospital in St. Pete said only 10 out of every 100,000 people had arterial malformations. It is often considered a "silent" condition because it has no signs or symptoms in many people until no one has broken blood vessels in the brain. Often, they are not transmitted by the parents and the disease can vary greatly from one patient to the other.

Doctors say that there was no way to prevent it. No way to predict it. It did not matter if Jacquez played football or had breakfast on a Saturday morning. Jobe says it could have happened to him anytime.

"It's literally a time bomb in the head and there's no way to predict when it will happen, or who's walking around with it," said neurosurgeon Kirk Jobe.

The news of Jacquez's state of health comes just days after he and his team mates had mourned the death of Marquis Scott, shot and killed while riding his bicycle in St. Petersburg. Scott also played for the Northeast Football team while he was a student there.

Jacquez is the oldest of his family. His parents say that his siblings admire him.

His parents are preparing his brothers and sisters for his death.

Northeast High School Director Michael Hernandez released this statement:

Jacquez Welch is a valued member of the Northeast High School football team and the school community. Our thoughts are with his family during this difficult time. Out of respect for his private life, we can not share information about his state of health. Support will be available to students and staff on Monday and will be in place as long as needed.

ABC Action News reporters JJ Burton and Sarah Hollenbeck contributed to this story.