Samuel Allen Obituary Santiago High School: The Santiago High School community was in mourning over the tragic loss of the young, talented soccer player Samuel Allen, who unfortunately passed away on January 29, 2025, after choking while eating. His family, friends, teammates, and coaches were devastated by the news and remember him as an athlete totally committed to his sport with a bright future ahead.
Samiel played as a midfielder and wore jersey number 14 for the Varsity Boys Soccer team at Santiago High School, class of 2026. Besides his high school, he also played with LF Legends FC ECRL 07 in Chino, California, from 2022 till 2024. His hardworking nature in the game really made him great on the field and also off the field.
The sudden death of Sam has left an unmistakable gap in the Santiago High School community. Anita Oviedo, a staff member who saw him just a day earlier, put into words the sorrow of losing such a gentle and respectful student.
“I work at Santiago and just saw him at lunch yesterday. I have been there since he started as a Freshman. He always came to see me at lunch to get his food. Such a sweet boy. This is a gut punch to our Shark community and we lift his family in prayer,” she wrote.
Coach Jesse Hardeman spoke to the heartbreaking conditions of his death: he had been on the phone with his girlfriend, Zoe, when he started choking. His parents were not home. She rushed over to his house, but, by the time she got there, Samuel was gone.
The coach paid tribute to him in an emotional post telling everyone not to waste even a single breath of life.
“Never take a minute of your life for granted. I know Tuesday night when he last played, no one knew that that would be his last game, and that hits hard,” he wrote.
The grief is crushing, but Samuel’s teammates have gone on to play their scheduled games with heavy hearts in his memory.
The latter of the two has been his longtime coach, Carlos Trevino. He had also sent his words of condolence, pointing out how much he worked and the bright future ahead of him.
“I had the privilege to train Samuel for so many years—from his first year in club, into high school—a hardworking kid, highly gifted. The future was indeed bright for that kid. So sad, seeing such a talented kid go by so fast—way too fast,” Coach Trevino has written.
In the days that followed, Santiago High School and the entire soccer community joined in several tributes to his life:
The players huddled under the scoreboard for victory pictures after a game on Jan. 31 with Samuel’s picture as a permanent tribute.
Teammates, friends, and family came to the Santiago High School field one night for a candlelight ceremony in celebration of life and legacy.
The loss of Samual Allen is huge, but he will never fade from the soccer field and out of the hearts of those who knew him. His family, friends, and the whole community at Santiago High School continue to mourn and remember him as a bright, young, talented individual who left this earth way too soon.
