JERSEY SHORE — It has been two years since a Jersey Shore Area High School football player collapsed near the end of a game and later died.
The unexpected death of Maxwell “Max” Engle, 17, inspired an outpouring of support far beyond Jersey Shore that continues today.
To show their appreciation for that support, the family is holding what they hope will be an annual “The Sound that Stays Music Festival” on Saturday, Oct. 4.
All the proceeds will go to the recently established Maxwell Engle Memorial Organization, which is dedicated to making music education accessible to kids of all ages.
The all-day ticketed event will be held at the Antlers on the Water along the Susquehanna River just west of Williamsport. Gates will open at 11:30 a.m. and music will continue until 10 p.m. on two stages, one of which is outside.
It will feature a blend of hometown favorites, touring talent, and the Uptown Music Collective, a non-profit music school in Williamsport, said family member Carly Hines.
Tickets are $45 and can be purchased through thesoundthatstays.com. or at the door.
“Our hope is to build a festival worthy of Max’s spirit, where music could bring comfort, connection, and celebration to all who carry the weight of loss,” Hines said.
The memorial organization’s first initiative will be to fund a full-year scholarship for a student at the Uptown Music Collective, she said.
Engle had a deep love for music, she said. “He’d haul a record player and sound system out to a campfire, spinning vinyl under the stars for friends. His record collection grew quickly, and music became his outlet for expression, communication and comfort.”
The festival is a way to thank the community for its love and support “during the hardest days of our lives,” she said.
“What better way to honor them than with music and a place where we can all gather, remember and find comfort together,” she added.
Max loved to bring people together, often involving music on some level, his parents Heather and Josh Engle said.
“We want to continue that spirit by helping other young people with opportunities to explore music,” they said.
“The tremendous amount of love and support that our family felt from friends, our community and strangers miles away helped us through our darkest days.
“Grief is a very personal and often lonely journey, but we were reminded that we were not alone in our loss.
“Seeing the [uniform] number 4 painted on windows in our community or pictures of people dressed in orange reminded us of how many people’s lives Max touched.”
They cited the remembrance garden created by students on school grounds not only in memory of their son but also of other students who have passed too soon.
“We are honored and humbled by each and every action that people have done and continue to do to remember our amazing son,” they said.
Engle died at Geisinger Medical Center a week after collapsing on the field with 11 seconds remaining in Jersey Shore’s football game at Selinsgrove on Sept. 8, 2023.
His death was caused by an intracranial hemorrhage as the result of blunt force trauma, Montour County Coroner Scott Lynn said.
Thousands of people, many wearing Jersey Shore orange, the school color, attended Jersey Shore’s first football game after Engle’s death.
Students and staff in numerous school districts wore orange the day before the game. Jersey Shore picked that day because it was the fourth school day of the week, and Engle’s uniform number was 4.