Reedley teen plays last football game before starting chemotherapy

REEDLEY, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Reedley high school senior hit the field for what may be the last game of his high school career.

Earlier this month, he learned he once again will have to battle his toughest opponent -- cancer.

Reedley High School senior Malachi Rios will return to chemotherapy in just a few days.

"It's probably my last game of my high school career, and I don't know, I'm just going to come out here and just play, just pushing through a lot of stuff," said Rios.

Last December, he found out he had stage 4 testicular cancer. In May, he was in remission.

But as of earlier this month, his cancer returned.

His family explained that the cancer is quickly spreading, and he needs treatment as soon as possible.

But still, Malachi has remained resilient -- including during last week's game against Firebaugh.

"It just felt good to get into that end zone, you know -- have the team rallying around us," said Rios.

His mom told Action News he stayed in Friday night's game the entire time. M

Malachi says the support from Reedley and his teammates is like no other.

"It's so surreal, like, this community is -- like I said, there's just something else in this community, and I love it. I'm just going to continue working through it. They got my back, I got their back," said Rios.

Reedley's athletic director says during this time, Malachi hasn't missed a practice -- remaining a role model to those on and off the field.

"When we come across something like this, to see a young man overcome this adversity is just incredible," said Reedley High Athletic Director Darren Minami.

While his season is cut short, he says he's grateful for the time he's spent in the end zone.

"Thank God that I got to get two games this season, you know," said Rios.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help during his fight against cancer.