Overview
- The player felt unusual movement during practice and coaches found a roughly two‑foot cottonmouth tucked under the helmet padding on Thursday.
- Police and Maumelle Animal Services bagged the helmet, submerged it to flush the snake out, captured the cottonmouth and released it in a wooded area away from the school.
- The student was not bitten or injured, received a replacement helmet and returned to practice after the snake’s removal.
- Maumelle Animal Services and school officials posted photos and video of the capture and urged quick inspections of helmets, shoes and other outdoor gear before use.
- Cottonmouths are venomous pit vipers that favor dark, enclosed spaces so bites can cause severe pain and tissue damage even though deaths are rare, which is why officials highlighted simple gear checks as a key safety step.