Warren Playoff: Gold laces honor late Mentor teen

Mike Papouras, a junior cornerback at University School, is organizing a fundraising event for Friday night's football game in Warren. The contest against Howland will feature a gold out, a display of the official color for childhood cancer awareness. Papouras has partnered with the CK Foundation to support families currently battling the disease.

The fundraiser is titled "Some Things are Bigger than Football." Papouras stated that the goal is to raise money to help families in their fight right now. Players are expected to wear decals and gold laces during the match. The event aims to generate $5,000 for the foundation.

The initiative stems from a memory dating back to October 20, 2023. On that date, Mentor High School named Jack Sawyer as honorary captain of its football team. Sawyer was 17 years old at the time and was treating Ewing sarcoma, an aggressive form of bone cancer. During that game, Euclid players presented Sawyer with a shirt bearing the same phrase now used in Warren.

Pamouras was 13 years old when he witnessed the 2023 event. His father was the superintendent of Euclid City Schools then. Papouras recalled realizing that children dealing with cancer face hardships far greater than those of a typical high school student. He wanted to make the process slightly easier for them. Sawyer passed away shortly after that 2023 game.

This fall, Papouras wrote to Dawn Sawyer, Jack's mother, to request her blessing for the fundraiser. In the letter, he noted that he had never met Jack but remembered a boy his own age who loved football. He expressed a desire for other children to hear Jack's story. Dawn Sawyer described the gesture as amazing and said she is deeply touched. She plans to join Papouras on the field for Friday's game.

Support for the cause is also coming from Jack's former school. A Mentor High football player informed Dawn that the Cardinals will wear yellow socks in Jack's honor during their Friday night game against Euclid. The team's seniors sought out this way to remember their former honorary captain. Dawn also credited Justin Hodge, a former Mentor student now playing at Miami University, for helping keep the memory alive.

Jack's personal motto is part of the message for this year's event. At his 2023 game, an announcer read a note where Sawyer defined the acronym PACE as Positive Attitude Changes Everything. Papouras hopes that others will hear this motto and carry it with them. Dawn Sawyer expressed gratitude for the continued support and love from young people championing this legacy.