The Georgia high school football player found dead the day before his team was to play in the state championship game was shot multiple times and his body left in the woods, his grandmother said.

Maxine Smith told WXIA that 17-year-old Brandon Smith didn’t come home last Thursday night.

“I woke up Friday morning and I knew he was gone. So I’m up, kept calling his cellphone, couldn’t find him, couldn’t find him, so I called the school,” she said.

The body was found on Sunday, as CrimeOnline reported. Officials have not confirmed the cause of young Smith’s death, but the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was conducting an autopsy on Tuesday.

Smith played on the offensive and defensive lines for Manchester High School, which lost its game to defending champion Bowdon by one point Monday night in Atlanta. The Manchester captains carried Smith’s jersey onto the field with them before the start of the game.

“This game meant everything to him and his teammates,” his uncle told WXIA.

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[Featured image: Manchester High School captains carry Brandon Smith’s jersey to the center of the field Monday night/WXIA screenshot]