Mitchell Birch, 17, a resident of Encampment who played football at Saratoga High School, died in a one-car crash Thursday night, according to the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

"This is a devastating loss for our valley," Saratoga Activities Director Rex Hohnholt said. "The two communities (Encampment and Saratoga) are very close-knit and it's always traumatic when you lose a kid like this.

"Mitchell was a big leader for our football team and he epitomized what football was all about. More important, though, was that he was a wonderful kid."

Birch apparently was returning to Encampment after football practice when he lost control of his 1994 Mazda 626 on Wyoming Highway 130 about 8 p.m., according to the patrol. After the vehicle began to slide, Birch overcorrected but lost control and slid through a ditch. The car then went down a steep embankment and rolled over.

Birch, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the vehicle. No one else was involved in the crash.

The patrol believes Birch was texting on his cell phone at the time of the accident, as his text message suddenly stopped at 8:08 p.m.

Birch's body was discovered at 7 this morning.

Tonight's Saratoga football game at Burns has been postponed until Monday, Oct. 13.