Relay for Life: Team "Z" raising funds

The football players and cheerleaders at Douglas High are looking to raise $5,000 by the end of the week.

The thing is, this isn't the normal type of athletic fundraising that goes toward new equipment, improvements to the field or a trip to a game out of state.

The money will be going to the American Cancer Society as part of the this weekend's Relay for Life event, which will be Saturday in Lampe Park.

"We're already about halfway there," said Terrie Thomas, whose son Tanner plays defensive back for the Tigers. "We had two fundraisers already " a dance a Genoa Lakes and a dinner at the Indigo " and we have a couple more things to do."

The statistics on cancer are staggering " one in three Americans will be diagnosed with it in their life time " but even at high school age, this group of upperclassmen at Douglas has seen the effects of the disease in a personal way.

Starting wide receiver Zach McFadden is a multiple-time survivor heading into his senior year. His family has sponsored "Team Z" in the relay the last several years. It became the football players' and cheerleaders' team in the past two years.

Assistant football coach Ernie Monfiletto and cheerleading coach Kerry Munk are both survivors.

Last year's fundraising efforts were dedicated to the memory of Pop Warner teammate Justin Stegemann, who died in the spring of 2007.

In the middle of last season, the team lost another young man close to their hearts when James Lamb Jr. passed away at the age of 19 in September.

Lamb, who had been born with a congenital disorder that left him paralyzed from the waist down and battled aggressive soft tissue cancer the last 18 months of his life, often spoke to the team after games about not giving up and continuing to fight.

His death fell hard upon the team. A number of seniors from last year's team called him the person who had most influenced their lives.

David Laird, who was chosen as The R-C's Male Athlete of the Year, talked openly about thinking often of him during close games last year.

Many players still have Lamb's initials or name marked on their equipment.

This year's relay team, which includes 51 football players and 29 cheerleaders, has been asked to participate in the Lumenaria service in Lamb's memory.

They will also participate in the survivor lap to honor McFadden.

But for all that, the team will be actively raising funds right up until the relay to help find a cure for cancer.

They will be at the Valley's grocery stores " Smith's, Raley's, Scolari's and Lira's " Thursday evening from 5 to 8 p.m. collecting spare change.

The same night, the Centerfield Restaurant will donate 10 percent of its tickets from the evening to the team.

Team members will also be selling 200 Draw Down raffle tickets for $20 each. One in every four tickets will win and the grand prize will be $500.

Anyone interested in donating to the team can call Terrie Thomas at 720-5940 or Deb McFadden at 690-9911.