Funeral Thursday for high school quarterback Evan Murray in New Jersey

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. (WABC) -- Community members attended a wake Wednesday for a New Jersey high school quarterback who died of massive internal bleeding after being hurt in a game Friday.

Evan Murray, 17, was a star QB for Warren Hills Regional High School.

His wake was held at the Faith Discovery Church in Washington, N.J. Funeral services will be Thursday at 11 a.m. at the church and will be private.

It was a day when the color of the football jerseys didn't matter, as the blue and white Streaks welcomed the scarlet and white County Seaters and the maroon and white Braves with open arms.

"I don't think there is anybody in there that isn't taking it very hard, it's a terrible tragedy," said Chuck Ellman of Soothing Paws Therapy Dogs.

But one thing was uniform at the wake, the number 18, Evan Murray's number. "When you walk inside and waiting on line, there's a basket with ribbons that are offered to you," said Ellman.

"I wanted to be here. I may come back tonight because he was a football player," said 8th grade teacher Steve Fritts. "I played at Warren Hills, I graduated from Warren Hills."

One thing heard over and over again was that Evan Murray was such a good guy. But that wasn't being discussed inside. In fact, we were told that people could hardly say a word because of the tremendous sense of loss.

"It's emotional inside, there's a lot of people in there and it's heartfelt."

Murray's teammates wore blue shirts and black ties. A few came early, but planned to practice before attending the wake, some saying that was the way Evan would have wanted it.

"It's good be a Blue Streak because you have this family no matter where you go," said Fritts.

The medical examiner said the cause of death was "massive intra-abdominal hemorrhage due to laceration of the spleen."

The ME's office also said:

"During the examination, Dr. Suarez determined that the spleen was abnormally enlarged thus making it more susceptible to injury. There was no evidence of head trauma or heart disease. The manner of death was accidental."

Murray had walked off the field with the help of some teammates Friday night after taking a hit in the backfield. A short time later, the three-sport athlete collapsed on the sidelines and died at a hospital.

Witnesses said Murray felt "woozy" after the tackle but tried reassuring his teammates he would be fine as he was lifted onto a gurney.

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A statement from interim Superintendent Gary Bowen said the school community is "deeply saddened" by the death of Murray, a three-sport athlete who had been the football team's starting quarterback for three years.

School officials say the football team will continue its season Saturday when it hosts Voorhees High School in a game that was initially scheduled for Friday night.

The matchup was also supposed to be the homecoming game for Warren Hills, but those festivities have been postponed.

On Monday, the parking space that Murray usually used was filled with balloons and flowers. His name and uniform number were written in chalk on the space.

Grief counselors have been at the school since Saturday and will remain there as needed. The district canceled its junior varsity football game that was scheduled for Monday.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and the New York Jets are among dozens of people and groups from around the country who have posted condolences on social media regarding Murray's death.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the:

Evan Murray Scholarship Fund

C/O Warren Hills Memorial Home

234 W. Washington Ave.

Washington, NJ 07882

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)