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ATKINSON, Neb. (AP) — A boy with brain cancer who scored a touchdown at a Nebraska practice game is playing football for real.
Thirteen-year-old Jack Hoffman took the field Monday to play center for his junior high team in Atkinson, located 179 miles (288 kilometers) northwest of Omaha.
Hoffman underwent chemotherapy after being diagnosed with cancer in 2011. In 2013, he drew national attention when he ran for a player-assisted, 69-yard touchdown in the Huskers' spring game.
Andy Hoffman says his son relapsed in 2014 and participated in a clinical trial that helped. The tumor worsened in 2018, so now Jack is back in a clinical trial.
Jack wanted to play football so his parents checked with doctors, who said it was their decision. The Hoffmans finally left it up to the eighth-grader.
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