It may be the middle of the high school football season, but two players from Avon Old Farms had somewhere to be far away from the football field.
“It was super awesome to just be able to give him a hug,” said senior quarterback Ryan Puglisi.
With the help of the AOF administration, he and teammate, junior Owen Moreland traveled to Canada to surprise their other teammate, Benedict Umeh after he finished his chemotherapy treatments.
“His smile. He was just smiling so big he was so excited to see us,” Moreland said.
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Umeh, who has been keeping up with his schoolwork and still has plans to play at Stamford next season, was diagnosed with cancer over the summer. He posted on social media that he’d finished chemo and was ready to get right back to work.
“Benedict is a really special kid,” said AOF head football coach Jon Wholley. “He's really a role model to all of our kids on how to act with toughness, in terms of just being the same person regardless of the situation.”
“He's the most positive kid you've ever met,” Moreland said. “He's just telling us…keep winning out there. This season is just for Benedict. Like we're just going out there to win for him.”
Sports
So far, so good. The Winged Beavers are 4-0 this season.
