Warren playoff game targets $0.00 for childhood cancer families

Mike Papouras, a junior cornerback at University School in Warren, organized a Friday night fundraiser titled Some Things are Bigger than Football. The event, scheduled against Howland, is designed to raise money for families currently fighting childhood cancer. Papouras is working with the CK Foundation to turn the playoff match into a community support effort.

The team will participate in a Gold Out for the game. Players will wear gold laces and decals on their uniforms. Gold is the official awareness color for childhood cancer. Papouras stated the goal is to raise money to support families in the fight right now. The visual theme serves as a direct link to the cause.

The concept originates from a 2023 game in Mentor. On October 20, 2023, Mentor High named Jack Sawyer, then 17, as honorary captain while he battled Ewing sarcoma. The stadium announcer introduced Sawyer to the crowd. Players from the opposing Euclid team, who wore yellow, gave him a shirt with the phrase Some Things are Bigger than Football. Sawyer died shortly after that game.

Papouras was 13 years old during the 2023 event. His father served as the superintendent of Euclid City Schools at the time. Papouras recalled the experience, saying he realized there are kids who have to deal with things way harder than what I'm going through. He added that he would like to make it a little easier for them. This memory motivated him to start the current fundraiser.

Papouras contacted Jack Sawyer's mother, Dawn, this fall to seek her blessing. He wrote that he never met Jack but kept thinking about a kid his age who loved football and being a cardinal. Dawn described the letter as an amazing gesture. She said she is deeply touched and proud. She is expected to join Papouras on the field for Friday's game.

Support for the cause extends beyond Warren. Dawn said a Mentor High football player recently contacted her. The entire Mentor Cardinals team will wear yellow socks on Friday against Euclid to honor Sawyer. The seniors made a point of finding a way to remember him. Dawn also credited Justin Hodge, a former Mentor student now at Miami University, with helping keep Sawyer's legacy alive.

Sawyer's personal motto, PACE, is central to the message. The motto stands for Positive Attitude Changes Everything. Papouras hopes others will hear the motto and carry it with them. Dawn expressed gratitude for the young people championing the memory and the motto. The game on Friday night serves as the venue for this collective tribute.