BARNWELL, S.C. --- Standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 360 pounds, James Wooden was a big obstacle to overcome for opposing football players.

The 16-year-old junior played both the defensive and offensive lines for three years on the Barnwell Warhorses football team.

Now friends and family will have their own obstacle regarding Wooden to overcome -- his death.

Wooden died early Sunday morning at Richland Memorial Children's Hospital in Columbia from heatstroke. Funeral services will be Saturday.

During the Aug. 26 football practice, Wooden complained of being dizzy, said Barnwell athletic director and head football coach Joey Still.

It wasn't the first time Wooden had complained of heat exhaustion. That came the first day of practice. Immediately after it, he was examined at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston during two days of observation.

"He was thoroughly examined and released to us to start practice again," Still said. "Some lab results showed there might be something going on with his heart, and they wanted to look at that before releasing him."

Athletes are required by the South Carolina High School League to get physicals by April 1 before participating in a sport. But Wooden underwent his physical April 29, according to Still.

Barnwell coaches rotated staying with him in the hospital, and coach Thomas Davis was there when he died.

An impromptu memorial service was held Sunday at Hagood Baptist Church. A crowd of about 150 students, faculty and parents gathered to remember "Big James."

After several people spoke, a crying Still sat in front of the crowd.

"You get caught up in the wins and losses, and you forget why you play the game -- the life lessons. He taught that he wouldn't quit. He fought to the end," Still said.