The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Mentor hosts ‘Kick for the Cure’ matches
After being unable to stage the event in 2020 due to the pandemic, Mentor brought back its annual “Kick for the Cure” matches over the weekend, an initiative to raise money and cancer awareness.
Captain honors Sept. 20 as Mentor welcomed rival Lake Catholic across town for the sides’ annual girls soccer nonconference match were given to someone new.
It came without an armband.
But it came from a place of warmth and hope, as a beautiful ray of sunshine enveloped the Mentor bench in the opening 40.
“Kick for the Cure,” an annual high school soccer initiative at several News-Herald coverage area schools to help raise cancer awareness and funds in turn for that cause, made its return for an all-day match slate at Mentor. Varsity-wise, the day extended from a 10 a.m. kickoff for Mentor-Lake girls to a 7 p.m. kickoff for MentorSouth boys.
Mentor had two honorees for 2021 — Sydney, a firstgrader at Bellflower Elementary School in the district, and high school nurse Lori Ehinger. Sydney, who according to a prematch announcement is undergoing chemotherapy after being diagnosed with a Stage 3 tumor, was in attendance for part of the Cardinals’ 2-0 win over the Cougars.
Both Mentor sides and the Lake girls wore special Tshirts in lieu of kits, with the “Kick for the Cure” logo on the front and colors that represent various forms of cancer awareness.
Cardinals standout senior midfielder Alyssa Blackburn led the charge in organization for this year’s event and was thrilled to do so after a one-year hiatus due to the novel coronavirus pandemic last fall.
“It’s an annual fundraiser for local families battling cancer, and then this year, actually we were fortunate enough to have two candidates that were really close to us in Cardinal Nation,” Blackburn said. “Our Mentor High nurse is battling cancer right now — unfortunately she was not able to come due to her immune system with COVID and everything. She is one of our recipients, and then our second recipient, was a little first-grade girl named Sydney, who goes to one of our elementary schools.
“We just like to do it to give back to our community, and obviously it’s nice to play for something bigger than just Mentor High soccer, to be able to fight for those that are battling something bigger than just the game of soccer.”
Typically, the “Kick for the Cure” initiative goes beyond this day of matches, with raffles and fundraising events away from the pitch.
“Yeah, we’re very fortunate to be in a great community like Mentor that is always willing to donate and give back,” Blackburn said. “So the boys and girls programs, we reached out to local businesses and asked for donations. And we had over 30 baskets over here, which is fantastic. And then, just our community coming together honestly, it’s amazing to see us all come together as a community and give back to these people that are in need of help.”
Sydney took a seat on the home bench for the opening 40, sitting with Mentor coach Ken Skilton, his staff and players. She was given a warm ovation prior to the match as she was introduced to the crowd.
“She was so cute,” Blackburn said. “She was totally into it. She was hanging out with us. She’s got her little toys over there, playing on the bench, and she was talking to the players. She’s in first grade. It made her smile, so it made our day.”
Seeing his side take on a cause that goes beyond sports is always a rewarding sight for Skilton. Earlier this season, as part of the service aspect of “Friday Night Futbol,” Mentor players provided dinner for Project Hope, a homeless shelter, and sold 50-50 raffle rickets and accepted donations for Haiti180, a 501(c)3 charity.
According to its website, Haiti180 benefits the Kay Mari Children’s Home, Immaculate Conception School, Kay Martina Elderly Home and Saint Mother Teresa Medical Clinic based in the Caribbean island nation.
“With Sydney, it was hard to hold back,” Skilton said. “We were almost in tears before the game even started, because what a wonderful thing with the girls. And Alyssa Blackburn … it wasn’t me. I didn’t put this together. I didn’t organize this. I help a little bit. But Alyssa Blackburn, who’s one of our captains, she was probably the main organizer from us. Parents helped her as well, and I’m thankful to all the parents and all the people that donated baskets to help raise money for this young lady.
“It’s a great cause. And to have one of our seniors step up before the season and say, ‘Hey, I want to bring this back. We weren’t able to do this last year. I want to bring this back.’ She said, ‘I’ll take it on, and I’ll organize it.’ And she did a great job.”
The fundraising continued throughout the boys match at night, in which Mentor prevailed, 4-1, getting a secondhalf brace from senior Emmet Pfeifer. Bagging a couple goals against a local foe never ceases to be worthwhile, but much more was worthwhile on this day.
“Cancer plays a big part in my life,” Pfeifer said. “My aunt had cancer. I know a lot of people, (turning to his fellow senior, Elliot Miller) Elliot’s dad had cancer. It means a lot to us, and this tradition has been in the club for a while now. I think it’s a big deal, and we raise a lot of money for cancer awareness, which is great.”