Matt
loved
football
and
played
with
the
same
team
since
the
5th
grade.
His
sophomore
year
at
Pope
High
School,
Matt
earned
a
Varsity
Letter
as
Defensive
End
and
was
working
hard
to
achieve
his
dream
of
playing
collegiate
football.
When
Matt
was
16,
he
was
diagnosed
with
a
rare
and
aggressive
bone
cancer
called
Ewing's
Sarcoma.
After
seven
rounds
of
chemotherapy,
a
bone
marrow
transplant
and
28
radiation
treatments,
Matt
returned
home
cancer-free
to
join
his
football
team
for
his
senior
year.
He
was
back
on
the
field
for
the
early
season
scrimmages,
and
when
he
took
the
field
the
whole
crowd
chanted,
“Go,
Matt,
Go!”
Unfortunately,
Matt’s
cancer
returned,
and
he
was
unable
to
finish
the
season.
Matt
enrolled
in
a
clinical
trial
at
the
National
Cancer
Institute
in
Bethesda,
MD
where
he
underwent
a
donor
stem
cell
transplant.
Matt’s
dad
was
the
perfect
match.
Matt
applied
the
same
toughness
and
determination
from
the
field
to
his
battle
with
cancer.
His
teammates came
up
with
the
motto
“STAND
TOUGH”
which
he
did
throughout
his
entire
battle
with
cancer.
Matt
died
on
May
30,
2006
surrounded
by
his
loving
family.
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