Times News Article

In case some of you haven't read the news article published in the Times News on April 9th by Ryan Howe...Here you go.

COLUMN: Like Lyons
Bobcats inspired by teammate
By Ryan Howe
Life just threw Garrett Lyons a curveball.Last Friday during Burley's baseball game with Hillcrest, Lyons left after the second inning, complaining of pain in his ribs. It had been a slowly escalating injury that was thought to have possibly stemmed from a spectacular diving catch Lyons made at the Buck's Bags Spring Classic the week before.He couldn't breathe well. He thought he had cracked a rib. He tried playing through the pain, but it kept getting worse, so bad he couldn't sleep at night.Without Lyons on the field, the Bobcats lost to Hillcrest. The next day, Saturday, Lyons didn't even stick around in the dugout to support the team as they got swept by Century in a doubleheader. It was their fifth straight loss, and it felt like the Bobcats' season could be heading down the drain. The players were confused, some a little hurt, that their leadoff hitter and best outfielder bailed on them.The most perplexing thing was, Garrett Lyons just isn't the type to abandon his team or let an injury keep him off the field. Even players from other teams thought it was odd. A Minico player in the stands Saturday said that something must be really wrong if Lyons isn't playing. He loves the game too much to sit out.After all, this is the same kid who flew around the football field with reckless abandon, taking on guys twice his size. He's nothing if not tough, strong-willed and good-spirited. Nothing could stop him from competing.That is, until Monday morning, when Lyons left school early to see a doctor. X-rays revealed cancer.Suddenly, a five-game losing streak didn't seem that important anymore."It's definitely a reality check," said senior captain Kace Redder. "We were all devastated after Saturday because we were like, man, what's going on with our season? Then when we found out about Garrett, we were like, man, this doesn't even matter. This is just baseball. This is just a game."Lyons was diagnosed with testicular cancer, one of the most curable forms. According to Burley coach Devin Kunz, the Lyons family said doctors are very optimistic that Garrett should make a complete recovery, but he still has a long, arduous road filled with surgeries and chemotherapy. If anybody can overcome adversity, though, it's Garrett Lyons.As for the team, the news hit them hard. "There is not one person in the 950 students and faculty that don't love and respect Garrett Lyons," Kunz said.On Tuesday, the Bobcats' minds were obviously elsewhere as they fell behind 7-1 to Jerome. However, before the game they held an emotional players-only meeting where they decided to play like Lyons: Go full throttle, stay positive, play scrappy and never give up.Was there any doubt that the inspired bunch would rally and beat Jerome 12-9?Just like there's no doubt the source of their inspiration will rally to beat his foe, too.Ryan Howe may be reached at 208-677-8786 or rhowe@magicvalley.com.