Kevin Morales/Capital Newspapers
Cambria-Friesland senior Kye Leystra anchors both lines for the Toppers heading into tonight's Division 7 Level 1 tilt against Shullsburg.
CAMBRIA — All Kye Leystra could do was sit and wait, almost helpless, a child having to rely on his grandparents for help with the most simple tasks. The chemotherapy he endured since kindergarten made him too weak to even get up.
“My grandma and grandpa... they moved in with us for a little while when I had this and I remember if I sat down and watched TV in the middle of the living room, I couldn’t get up by myself,” said Leystra, a captain on Cambria-Friesland’s football team. “So they had to help me. I lost all my hair. Yeah, I was pretty weak. The chemo, I got really sick on it.”
Leystra, a senior right guard and defensive lineman for the Toppers, was diagnosed in kindergarten with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia.
It is a cancer of the white blood cells that prevents the body from producing lymphocytes to fight infection.
He underwent two separate treatments of chemotherapy between kindergarten through seventh grade — about five years total — but since has rebuilt his strength and stamina and is the heart of C-F’s Small Trailways co-champion football team.
The third-seeded Toppers (6-3) open the Division 7 playoffs tonight when they host Shullsburg.
“I mean everybody, when he was young, was aware of how sick he was and I had him on my prayer list for a long time,” said C-F athletic director and football coach Jim Bylsma. “I can still picture him sitting in my class with a hat on, you know, because he had lost his hair and what not. And everybody was pretty worried about him.
“And now you look at him and you think, ‘Man, what a night-and-day difference.’”
Leystra now stands an imposing 6-foot-4 and weighs 248 pounds.
His full head of hair and lively demeanor would never suggest he was sick for much of his childhood.
Yet Leystra began his first stint of chemo treatments in kindergarten and those lasted until he was in third grade.
His cancer was in remission for roughly two years, but came back when he was in fifth grade. Leystra again received chemo treatments, which his body reacted to much harsher the second time around. Those treatments lasted until he was in seventh grade and ended just in time for him to play middle school football.
“I didn’t really know too much,” said Leystra about his childhood cancer. “I was pretty excited (the hospital) had Nintendos in the room and stuff. But, I don’t know, I think I had to mature a lot quicker because I had a lot of responsibility to get my homework done outside of school. Like that was a big issue, but I did fine.”
The maturity and determination that helped Leystra survive childhood cancer are attributes that have carried over to football. Shortly after the 2008 season ended with a 14-0 loss to Almond-Bancroft in the first round of last year’s postseason, Leystra and a few teammates decided to put serious time and effort into off-season weight training.
They arrived at school at 6 a.m. nearly every morning to lift. When they couldn’t use the school’s weight room, he and his friends headed to the YMCA. Now, Leystra says he maxes out on the bench press at 320 and can squat 450.
“I think it’s an inspiration for the players and the coaches,” Bylsma said. “He started lifting for this season three days after last season ended. In terms of attendance and commitment, he was there virtually every day that he could from the end of last season to the start of this season.
“And I think the kids responded to that and that’s why he was elected one of the captains. He’s just so determined. He was determined to beat cancer and he was determined to make himself a good football player.”
Determination is a key ingredient for the players of a C-F program that have had rough starts each of the last two seasons.
The Toppers lost their first four games in 2008 before rallying to win their final five and make the playoffs. This season started with back-to-back losses to Laconia and Marshall — Division 5 and 4 schools — by a combined score of 80-6.
That’s when the Toppers ditched their new offense in favor of their tried-and-true wing-T. Since then, C-F is 6-1 and outscoring opponents 263-63.
“We started the season with a new offense, but JJ (Jose Hernandez) — we kind of based it on him — (so) we have speed and then we have Manny (Ramirez) — he was our up the gut guy. We played those games and that offense didn’t work too well,” Leystra said. “Jose got hurt in the scrimmage, he broke his ankle. So we switched back to our old wing-T and our coaches, they helped a lot. We just tried to forget about those games and bring a new start to the conference.”
The Toppers have rushed for 2,693 yards this season, according to Maxpreps.com. A vast majority of those running plays were designed to go to the right side where Leystra — along with right tackle Gus Zavala — anchor the line.
He also starts on the defensive line, where he’s sixth on the team with 42 tackles, including a sack. Leystra, who said he hopes to play college football somewhere next year, is almost a sure bet to be a All-Small Trailways pick this season.
And after going through so much so early in life, Leystra sometimes has to take a step back to truly appreciate what he, his family and friends have been able to experience together.
“I’m grateful that I made it through that,” Leystra said. “Just everybody that helped me through that (I’m thankful) for. It’s nice to be able to do something like this.”