By Kris Leonhardt

Editor

MARSHFIELD — A Sept.15 event will pair two competing high school teams in a battle against cancer.

“This event started in 2015 when one of SPASH’s (Stevens Point Area Senior High’s) recent graduates (Tyler Jaworski) was diagnosed with ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia),” explained Blackout Cancer co-organizer Marliss Trudeau. “The football staff reached out to us after hearing that one of our coaches was battling cancer. Well, that coach is my son-in-law Len Luedtke Jr. I jumped on board to help with sales here in Marshfield.

“(That year) we were able to donate $1,000 toward cancer research here at the Marshfield Clinic, and $1,000 was sent to the Stevens Point Cancer Center in Tyler Jaworski’s honor. The remainder of the proceeds helped Tyler’s family with their medical bills.

“Last year we hosted the game. We continue to donate $1,000 in honor of each of these men with the remainder going to a family battling cancer. Lindsay Zuelke was last year’s recipient. This year Carsyn (Guyer) is our honored cancer fighter.”

Carsyn, a 4-year-old from Stevens Point, was diagnosed with ALL in February 2017. He was recently invited to Marshfield to attend a practice with the Marshfield Tigers football team.

“I invited Carsyn to visit so the football team could see who they were helping,” added Trudeau. “Len told me that whenever Carsyn was able to come, he would make it work and introduce him to the team.”

This year’s Blackout Cancer event will be Sept. 15 as Marshfield takes on SPASH at Goerke Field in Stevens Point with kickoff at 7 p.m. Proceeds will benefit cancer organizations in Marshfield and Stevens Point as well as Carsyn.

“Since the first event, Amy Helton, who is Tyler Jaworski’s aunt, and I have decided we would keep this tradition going as long as we were able,” Trudeau said. “We hope to continue this event for years to come as both communities are willing to support the event.”

For more information on Blackout Cancer, contact Marliss Trudeau at mmtrudeau@frontier.com.