Former Arkansas high school football star battles cancer

Jaqwis Dancy (3) breaks through the line on a run for Junction City in the 2014 Class 2A championship game against Hazen. Dancy, now playing at Louisiana Tech, has been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a treatable cancer that starts in white blood cells.
Jaqwis Dancy (3) breaks through the line on a run for Junction City in the 2014 Class 2A championship game against Hazen. Dancy, now playing at Louisiana Tech, has been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a treatable cancer that starts in white blood cells.

A former Arkansas high school football star has been diagnosed with cancer.

Former Junction City and current Louisiana Tech running back Jaqwis Dancy has been diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a treatable cancer that starts in white blood cells.

Dancy was rehabilitating an ankle injury when he first complained about a lymph node. The test results came back Oct. 7 and were positive for Hodgkin's.

The five-year survival rate for Stage 3 Hodgkin's Lymphoma is 80 percent, according to cancer.org.

Dancy was scheduled to begin treatment at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis this week.

"Jaqwis is in a different battle right now," Louisiana Tech Coach Skip Holtz, the son of former Arkansas Coach Lou Holtz, said in a statement. "All of our thoughts and prayers are with Jaqwis. He is constantly on our minds and in our prayers, with what we are doing as a football team right now. There is a dose of reality that we have a teammate and a family member that is fighting through a tough battle right now.

"For everyone on this team, it has brought a real sense of togetherness and appreciation for the blessings that we have on a day-to-day basis."

Dancy finished his high school career 10th on the state's all-time rushing list with 5,370 rushing yards and 61 touchdowns. He rushed for at least 100 yards 31 times in his high school career.

At Junction City, Dancy was a three-time MVP in the Class 2A state championship as the Dragons won titles in 2012, 2013 and 2014 under Coach David Carpenter. Dancy was 40-1 in his high school career, with Junction City's only loss coming to Earle in 2012 when he was a sophomore.

Dancy is the cousin of former Arkansas defensive lineman Byran Jones, who also played at Junction City.

Holtz told the News-Star in Monroe, La., that he has kept his team updated on Dancy's status.

"It's been hard because when you first told them of the diagnosis, shock, like, big eyes, wide open mouths," Holtz told the News-Star. "We have looked at statistics, numbers, survival rate, you know everything we can that we have talked with this team about.

"The hard part the day you told them is it's cancer. And let me tell you, I've sat in that meeting when that's what the doctor tells you and you don't hear anything else they say. You just heard cancer and you just walk out and you're like, 'What else did he say?' He talked to me for 30 minutes and I heard the 'c' word."

In 2015 as a true freshman, Dancy appeared in all 13 games as a reserve running back and kickoff returner. He returned 17 kicks for 296 yards. Dancy was expected to play more this season, but he injured his ankle in fall camp.

Louisiana Tech honored Dancy during its game at Massachusetts on Saturday, wearing a blue decal with Dancy's No. 20 on its helmets, which read "compete." The Bulldogs won 56-28.

Information in this article was contributed by The Associated Press.

Sports on 10/19/2016

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