New York high schooler continues to play football after two-year battle with cancer

JERICHO, N.Y. — A New York high school senior refused to let his cancer battle keep him from suiting up for the big game.

Two years ago, Brandt Morgan was a star JV quarterback who led his team and was considered an up-and-coming athlete at Jericho High School, his coach Greg Berry told CBS News.

During that season, 15-year-old Morgan was diagnosed with Stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to WABC.

“I collapsed in front of one of my good friends of mine that came to visit me and ... when I went to the hospital and went to the emergency room, I found out cancer spread from my throat to my chest in less than a week,” Morgan told the station.

For the next several months, Morgan underwent chemotherapy treatment, resulting in temporary nerve damage and having to learn how to walk again.

“I’m stuck here getting this poison put in my body. It caused me to lose probably almost 30 pounds. I got neuropathy, which I lost feeling from the legs down,” Morgan told CBS News.

Despite the challenges, Morgan refused to give up. Not only did he want to come back, but he also wanted to be the starting quarterback his senior year.

Morgan has played five games this year, and his coach says he’s the starting quarterback.

“Quarterback is the leader. If you don’t have a quarterback, you can’t have a team,” Jericho varsity football coach Brendan Lahti told CBS News.

Morgan told WABC that just suiting up for his homecoming football game on Saturday was a win in itself.

His mother says it’s hard to watch her son play, who is undergoing chemotherapy treatments.

“It’s disturbing, but I have to put it back again in my head that a year ago he couldn’t even do any of this. And a year and a half ago we were in the hospital. So, look at him now. He’s on the field. He’s living his dream,” Abby Morgan said.

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