A Polk County teen diagnosed with a possible case of bacterial meningitis has died.

Family friend, Valerie Ritzenthaler, said high school senior and Santa Fe Catholic High School football player, Gil Kromer died after contracting bacterial meningitis.

“It was one o’clock on Saturday that I got the message that he was given last rites,” she said.

Officials at Tampa General Hospital have confirmed the teen’s death.

Friends said the teen complained on Twitter about having a headache and feeling like he was “going to die.”

Those close to him said the teen was healthy up until a couple of days ago.

Kromer is described as a six foot four, 225 pound defensive tackle for Santa Fe Catholic High School.

“He was a big guy," Ritzenthaler said. "He’d knock a player down and then he’d pick them up and say, I’m so sorry.”

Ritzenthaler said she’s been in constant contact with Kromer’s mom since he was taken to Tampa General Hospital on Friday.

“She said this is just devastating," Ritzenthaler said. "They cannot believe this.”

Shock and disbelief is spreading throughout the community both in Lakeland and Sandusky, Ohio where friends say Kromer lived most of his life.

“We’re extremely surprised. None of us at all saw that coming,” Kromer’s best friend Matt Ritzenthaler said.

He said the news is hitting everyone hard.

His former High school friends held a vigil for the teen at St. Mary Central Catholic High School, in Ohio on Saturday night. The group also dedicated his old jersey to his grandmother.

“We lit candles. He was Catholic. We’re a Catholic high school. We had a Catholic priest there. We read prayers. We had a prayer together,” Matt said.

Officials with the health department say Kromer’s case isn’t related to the stomach bug that forced the school to close its doors on Friday. But it’s still unsettling for many who say this fun loving football star was taken way too soon.

Santa Fe Catholic School was not available for comment. Health department officials say they’re going to monitor the situation and take proper precautions to keep students and faculty safe.