'I didn't let that knock me down': Brain cancer doesn't keep HS football player off field

Jacob Carrillo returned to the hospital on Monday for another round of chemotherapy that will keep him off the Avondale St. John Paul II Catholic High School football field this week.

But that's just a momentary setback. The junior wide receiver assures his coach, his teammates, his family, everyone, that he'll be back next week, putting on his helmet, ready to play as he did as a starter in last week's game against Tombstone.

Carrillo has a cancerous brain tumor.

But whether it's baseball or football, he's still playing.

"I've had setbacks," Carrillo said. "There was an MRI once that showed that I still had growth. I didn't let that knock me down. I still kept fighting. I still kept going.

"The tumor now is shrinking. It's better."

Elizabeth Roque, Jacob's mom, praises God every day that her son is alive and doing what he loves.

In the spring of his freshman year, Carrillo, 16, who is 5-foot-10, 145 pounds, began having headaches. They were persistent. A doctor told him he was having migraines and needed to be hydrated.

No. 1 recruit: Chandler QB Dylan Raiola keeping priorities in order

During a baseball game, he ripped a shot into the gap that should have been a standup double.

"He couldn't make it to first base without falling," Elizabeth said. "I was like, 'This is not normal for him.' I asked him what's going on. He said, 'I don't know. It's almost like my legs forgot how to run.' It was frustrating for him."

After another game, they went to a convenience store and bought a Slurpee. But he wasn't able to hold it.

"He just started crying," Elizabeth said. "He said, 'I don't know what is going on with me.' I called the neurologist again and all he did was bump up his medication. He was already taking a lot of medication."

One day at school, Carrillo texted his mom from the bathroom, letting her know that his head hurt so bad that he couldn't see. He was taken to the nurse's office. On the way back home, he couldn't stop throwing up.

The next day, Roque took her son to Phoenix Children's Hospital. She began to cry, pleading that this wasn't just migraines. Another doctor saw Jacob. They did a brain scan.

Elizabeth was asked to take a walk with the doctor to a conference room.

"It was probably like the longest walk ever for me but it was a couple of rooms down," she said. "There was a bunch of people in there already, They told me they found a mass bigger than a baseball.

"I lost it right there."

A dentist had to come in to remove Carrillo's braces in order to do an MRI, Elizabeth said. He had two brain surgeries. He had some fluid removed. But doctors weren't able to remove all of the tumor because it was too dangerous.

"They said it started bleeding a lot. She said that usually when it bleeds a lot like the way his did is because it's cancerous."

He recovered fast to the amazement of doctors, who thought the recovering would be a long road.

"He's a fighter," Elizabeth said. "The oncologist is like, 'He's just flying through this.' "

He lost some of his hair when he first received chemo. But it grew back fast. He takes pride in that.

St. John Paul II coach John Padilla said he's learned to never underestimate Carrillo's will power.

"He's out here, going through that struggle, and he's always positive," Padilla said. "He doesn't mope. He doesn't say, 'Feel sorry for me.' He's just out here with the guys having fun. I told the rest of the guys, 'When you have a little owie out here, it gives you a reality check of what some people have to go through.' "

Carrillo was elected as the fourth captain because of his resiliency, Padilla said.

Family bonds at home and at St. John Paul II keep Carrillo going. He has a brother Michael who is 10 and a sister Danna who is 30. His father, Manuel Carrillo, lives half the year in Chicago as part of the White Sox grounds crew at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Mom holds up the family while Manuel is away. Jacob said while his mom has been a rock, "she mourns more than me."

"If I acted like it's more than just me..." he said. "It's my family. I want to be a role model for my younger brother. I want him to have someone to look up to."

Senior linebacker/receiver Isaac McKim is inspired by Carrillo.

"It's incredible to see someone who has gone through so much, more than anybody, it's a humbling experience," McKim said. "He's out here smiling every day. He's wanting to play football.

"It puts me in my place when I'm struggling, saying, 'Man, I've got a lot of homework. I don't really want to go (to practice).' "

Elizabeth said doctors said that it is OK for Jacob to play football. This has been something that provides an outlet, an escape. He's not afraid of getting hurt.

"No injury can be worse than what I'm going through right now," he said.

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on Twitter @azc_obert.

Support local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Brian tumor doesn't keep St. John Paul II player off the field