Communities rally around Beth-Center football player Little
Frank Pryor was cutting the grass Saturday when he received a phone call from the father of Johnny Little, a senior football player at Beth-Center High School.
It seemed odd to Pryor, one of the athletic directors at Beth-Center, that he would get a call from John Little.
“When I answered the phone, John told me to sit down …”
John Little was calling to tell Pryor that his 18-year-old son, Johnny Little, had been diagnosed with cancer and was in Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.
It’s too early in the process for any long-term prognosis.
Joe Kuhns was at the Waynesburg University football game when his cell phone went off. Later in the day, he was informing his team. He said it was one of the harder things he had to do as football coach.
“This hit us out of nowhere,” Kuhns said in a halting voice. “Everyone pumped the brakes a little when they heard. We were all shook up until some of the players went to see him in the hospital. He was really up and that made them feel a little better. As a head coach, this is the first time I’ve had something of this magnitude. I’m from here and you have to be proud the way the community has rallied around him.”
Within a day or two, a GoFundMe account was set up in Johnny Little’s name with the hope of raising $5,000 to defray expenses. By yesterday morning, 91 donations had been secured that produced $5,050, so the goal was raised to $10,000.
The address for the Go Fund Me account is: www.gofundme.com/help-Johnny-Little-tackle-cancer-2upskcb8
John Little sent a letter to the Beth-Center football team that Pryor said made him cry.
It read in part: “As we stand face-to-face against cancer, we are stronger knowing what it takes to win. … I want to thank all of you for your prayers and for supporting us and our family. … Keep us in your prayers. We love you all.”
Pryor’s son, Nick, has been friends with Johnny since grade school.
“They played together in midgets all the way through,” said Pryor. “Nick has been pretty quiet lately.”
Beth-Center fans at Friday evening’s home football game against Charleroi will be dressed in white T-shirts that were sold as a fundraiser for the family. Charleroi High School asked for a shipment of T-shirts in their school colors so that they could be worn by the football team, band, football boosters, cheerleaders and fans.
The seniors are being honored during the game and Pryor said the school is working to allow Johnny to watch the game while at the hospital. The football team will bus to the hospital today with the football booster club paying the costs.
“I told our kids that this will affect all of us differently,” Kuhns said. “I told them that there are a lot of people doing things now. We have to continue to do things to help him six months from now. We have to be relentless.”
Little plays defensive end and tight end for the Bulldogs. He also had a role on special teams. Kuhns said he played enough to earn a letter.
“You want all Johnnys on your team,” said Kuhns. “All you get out of Johnny is a smile. He is an undersized kid but a hard worker and vital to the team.”
The T-shirts are being produced by BeeGraphix. Davis Slagle, vice president and owner of the company, said more than 600 T-shirts have been sold so far.
“This is not one or two people in the community coming together,” Slagle said. “This is a whole community coming together.”
Slagle said the T-shirts are being sold for $10 with $6 from each sale benefitting the Little family. Online orders can be taken until 3 p.m., Thursday in order to be available in time for Friday’s game.
The web address is: https://tacklecancerforjohnny.itemorder.com/sale.
The teachers in Beth-Center’s district are collecting gift cards for such things as gas and food for the trips to the hospital. Donations can be sent in care of Jamie Gammon, Beth-Center High School, 179 Crawford Road, Fredricktown, Pa., 15333.
Bentworth School District, where John Little grew up, also is making a donation.
Little has wrestling ties to Trinity High School and a collection will be taken at the Hillers’ football game Friday night against Greensburg Salem.