THE WIN THAT COUNTS MOST
Why Wagoner's win streak means so much to Condict family
WAGONER — Austin Condict laid in his hospital bed with a laptop watching a high school football game 625 miles away.
His abdomen had been opened, taken apart and put back together. But he was ignoring how he felt.
All that mattered was Wagoner’s game against Pryor. His dad was coaching. His friends were playing.
He smiled after Wagoner’s 35-14 win, an 11th straight for the Bulldogs.
“I had never watched my teammates play,” Condict said. “That was different.”
There was no way to know in that moment, but that was one of many victories for Wagoner.
The Bulldogs have won 42 straight games and can take possession of the state record Friday, but for one family it’s about more than the victories. While everything was nearly flawless on the football field, Wagoner coach Dale Condict and his family dealt with the sobering reality of life’s struggles.
Austin Condict was diagnosed with cancer while Dale’s father and coaching mentor, Tom Condict, was losing his battle with the disease.
Two years later, the streak is just a small part of pride.
“A lot of it’s just to see Austin out there being productive, having a great time and being a normal teenager again,” Condict said. “That’s the victory. To add the streak in there is a bonus.”
A sobering season
Austin Condict remembers not reacting to his diagnosis.
It was Feb. 28, 2015, inside a doctor’s office with his father. He was only a freshman. He was in shock. But he knew the meaning of cancer. His grandfather, Tom, had battled it for years.
But Austin could only think of missing football.
“I don’t think I even cried that day, honestly,” Austin said.
Austin awoke to swelling and pain that morning. Not wanting to waste time, Dale Condict loaded his son and went to the doctor. Within hours, Austin was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He was in surgery the next morning.
Dale was fighting back a tailspin. This was happening the same day his father underwent radiation treatment on cancer in his brain. Why was this happening? How could he break the news to his family?
It became about remaining strong alongside his wife Sherry. Their two younger children also needed their family to know things would be fine.
“You do it because you love your kid and you’ve got to be there for them,” Dale said. “You wake up and put one foot in front of the other.”
But cancer doesn’t always quit.
Weeks after the surgery, a test revealed some concerning activity in lymph nodes within Austin’s abdomen. Four rounds of chemotherapy were ordered.
Meanwhile, Tom died in August, a harrowing reality for the Condicts with Austin still fighting.
More tests showed a benign tumor. Austin underwent major surgery in early September at Indiana University School of Medicine, made famous for its treatment of Lance Armstrong.
His sophomore football season was over.
Austin was still crushed, but then he thought of his dad, who had flown back after the surgery to coach that week. Dale had balanced coaching with his family in the toughest of times.
“It really put into perspective what type of dad I have,” Austin said. “Sure, what I went through was tough, but what he did, it gave me ... I knew that I had to be tough for him and he had to be tough for me. If we’re both doing that, that can help.”
Weeks later, Austin suited up for the Class 4A state semifinals. The next week, Wagoner won its second straight title on a last-second touchdown catch.
“That was my favorite because of everything we had to overcome,” Dale said.
New perspective
Austin Condict prefers to cook his own food.
Nearly two years after his cancer battle, he’s a health guru. He works out almost religiously. He’s lost 30 pounds and transformed his body for his senior year.
At 5-feet-8 and 180 pounds, he’s oddly still an offensive lineman. On defense, he’s a linebacker.
That makes the moment Austin finally got his hands on the football two weeks ago more special. He jumped a Cascia Hall pass route, came up with the interception and raced to the end zone for his first career touchdown.
In that moment, the end zone was all that mattered. Then, when he found Dale on the sideline, a flood of emotion nearly overcame both.
“He was maybe more excited than I was,” Austin said.
Dale had watched a community rally around his family and football team. He watched his son beat cancer. He could only feel grateful to everybody around him.
Earlier that week, Austin underwent his routine eight-month checkup. No cancer. Eight more months of peace.
It’s likely Wagoner will have sole possession of the record by then. It could have a fourth straight state championship. Austin, meanwhile, will have graduated and began adulthood.
“I think when I’m older I’ll look back and think this was amazing,” Austin said. “It’s hard to put it in perspective right now. I don’t know how to. Other people might see it as amazing what I’ve done, but I’m doing it. I still take it one day at a time. I’m still doing it.”