KHS football team makes 6-year-old leukemia patient team captain

“I go out and toss the coin and watch the football players,” said Grace. “The one who wins the coin toss they flip the coin to see if it lands on heads or tails. I won the coin toss two times.   Everybody cheered. I flip the coin and I go out there and do lots of stuff, like go out and work the football game and have fun. [I like] seeing what team is winning, and watching and going out there and having fun. I do cheerleading, and I go up in the air and have fun. [I’m] not scared up in the air.” Grace termed everything as “being fun,” her apparent top priority and motivation to return.

‘Bigger than football’

“It’s bigger than football,” explained B.J. Williams 18, a senior defensive lineman. “Bigger than our team. Bigger than the community … seeing her struggle. It moved me. It motivated me. Seeing Grace at the games — I loved it — it motivated me to think it was bigger than football.”  Williams said that he appreciated seeing Grace enjoy herself at the games through the hard times, “smiling through it.” Williams said he wants for Grace to understand that the team is there for her whenever she needs anything. “Not just during football,” said Williams. “We are there for her in life if she needs something else — we’re like big brothers.”

Seventeen-year-old Zachary Chilcott, quarterback and also a team captain, expressed his gratitude to have “an inspiration to look forward to and play for every week.” Chilcott would talk with Grace at the games, and said that he would explain everything to her so she could understand what was going on. Chilcott admitted that he never knew a kid with severe health issues before, and like many, at first was unsure of how to approach the little girl. “You just couldn’t fathom anything like that,” he said. “She just became a part of our family, our team.” Chilcott described Grace as being initially shy, and when he would approach her for a hug, she didn’t reply with many words. Chilcott explained that Grace’s fight motivated him to think outside of football.

Justin Watson, 16, an offensive lineman, was also a little nervous to talk with Grace at first as well, also not knowing anyone so young with such profound health issues. “It just sucks because she’s so young and fighting her way through it.”  Watson felt that each victory for the team was a victory for Grace herself. “We won for her, we won for Kingston. But, it felt way bigger than football. Some people look at football as a game to play. It was more than a win-lose — we were winning for her — it was different.”

The magic number

Jake DeCicco, 18, a team captain and wide receiver, explained that the leadership class was 100 percent volunteer for seniors on the team and a few, hand-picked juniors. The focus of the leadership class, he explained, was how to make the team better and get more guys into the weight room to train. “Bringing Grace in,” DeCicco said, “immediately caught my mind because my grandma had just been diagnosed with liver cancer. So, I went and met Grace early. I never knew anyone as sick as Grace. Not that young. And we immediately connected.”

DeCicco described a sibling-like bond with Grace, who took to DeCicco and asked to wear his No. 4 Tigers jersey throughout the season.