16-year-old flag football player dies following game at Desert Oasis
By Sabrina Schnur Las Vegas Review-Journal
January 6, 2023 - 7:15 am
A Desert Oasis High School student who died after suffering a medical emergency during a football game was remembered Friday for her love of the sport.
Sophomore Ashari Hughes, 16, collapsed around 7:30 p.m. Thursday after a home game against Valley High School. She was hospitalized and died later that night.
Her parents, Enttroda and Twayne Hughes, described her as a passionate, loving and determined girl.
“She loved music, dancing, and being around all the people she loved,” the parents wrote in a statement. “She called football the real love of her life!”
Aphelia Phifer-Hill posted to Facebook on Thursday night that she rushed onto the field to perform CPR on the girl, who was her daughter’s teammate.
“Today was the first time ever, in my 26 years of nursing that I had to do CPR on a kid,” she wrote.
She could not be reached for comment on her post. A person named Aphelia Phifer Hill was licensed with the Nevada State Board of Nursing as a registered nurse in 2015 and has an active license, according to the board’s website.
Phifer-Hill wrote that the girl collapsed after the game, and “everyone was panicking” amid the cold, rainy weather. She described attempts at chest compressions and using an external defibrillator.
“Her family was not at the game, but finally arrived,” the post continued. “We were able to get a heart rhythm.”
Phifer-Hill said the teen was hospitalized and intubated before she ultimately died.
“Love your kids, you never know when death is coming,” the woman wrote.
Marilyn Barnes’ 15-year-old daughter, Ajah, begin playing flag football as a freshman at Centennial High School last year after Ashari Hughes, who was on Centennial’s team at the time, persuaded her.
“On the field she was a beast,” Marilyn Barnes said Friday morning. “She put her heart into that game, every game she played. Off the field she was so bubbly. She always had a smile on her face.”
Ajah still plays for Centennial and even after Ashari Hughes enrolled at Desert Oasis for her sophomore season, she stayed in a group chat with Centennial players in which the girls talked daily.
“It’s very scary because at the end of the day, we think of sports as a sport,” Barnes said. “We all have plans on what happens after the game, get the family home, have dinner and get the babies ready for school the next day. You just never think on that field or court that’s their last moment.”
Barnes said her daughter, and most Centennial players she had talked to, skipped school Friday and were grieving.
An online fundraiser for Hughes’ funeral costs was posted Friday afternoon and raised more than $2,000 in two hours.
Desert Oasis Principal Ian Salzman wrote an email Friday to the school community asking parents to be mindful of how grief appears in children and to seek services if they need counseling or support.
Any parent with concerns or questions may contact the school at 702-799-6881, according to the letter.
All Desert Oasis athletic events scheduled for Friday, a boys basketball game at Palo Verde and girls basketball game at Las Vegas High, were canceled. Desert Oasis flag football coach Todd Thomson could not be reached for comment.
In an email to Valley High School families Friday morning, Principal Kimberly Perry-Carter disclosed the death and encouraged parents to watch for signs of grief.
“Our thoughts go out to the entire Desert Oasis High School community as we all mourn this loss,” she added.
Valley declined requests from the Las Vegas Review-Journal for comment from the athletic department and flag football head coach CJ Jordan.
In a statement Friday morning, Superintendent Jesus Jara said the school district was grieving with the child’s family.
“The loss of this young life deeply saddens us, and our thoughts are with the student’s friends, family, and loved ones,” Jara wrote. “When a tragedy occurs, it affects not only that school but the entire Clark County School District family, and we grieve with the students, staff, and families affected by this loss.”
The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association deferred all questions to the school district, which did not comment beyond Jara’s statement.
“I’m just blown away,” said Marc Ratner, Southern Nevada spokesperson from the association. “It’s such a horrible, horrible day.”
A Desert Oasis High School student died after suffering a “medical emergency” during a game Thursday night, according to the school’s principal.
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Not death …yet but omg!
