Jeff Falgien's El Camino Real football program and Dexter quarterback Colin Parachek aim to lead start to finish.
Video: Touchdowns Against Cancer 2019Campaign aims to raise awareness and money to fight childhood cancer.
The Conquistadors have earned a spot in the CIF Los Angeles City Section playoffs in each of those seasons, including a 10-win campaign in 2016 that included a trip to the Division I semifinals.
Falgien's program is also stiff-arming the competition nationally when it comes to raising money for the Touchdowns Against Cancer campaign to help St. Jude Children's Research Hospital fight childhood cancer.
As of Tuesday evening, the Conquistadors have raised a national-best $1,420 for St. Jude to assist with cancer research. El Camino Real isn't just winning on the field, it is making a difference off of it.
MaxPreps and
PledgeIt.org have joined forces to encourage high school football programs across the country to not only raise money for St. Jude, but to raise awareness for childhood cancer. Teams and their communities can participate in Touchdowns Against Cancer by pledging a one-time donation or a dollar amount for every touchdown scored in September.
Helmets aren't the only thing El Camino Real is raising. Under head coach Jeff Falgien, the Conquistadors have already raised over $1,400 as part of the 2019 Touchdowns Against Cancer campaign.
File photo: Samuel Mawanda
El Camino Real is vying to become the fourth different team champion in as many years.
Whittier Christian (La Habra, Calif.) claimed the 2016 title by raising $11,053. In 2017,
Chopticon (Morganza, Md.) raised $12,013 to while
Lausanne Collegiate (Memphis, Tenn.) raised a record $21,267 a year ago.
The 6-foot-4 junior quarterback, who threw for almost 2,400 yards and 26 touchdowns a year ago, said that Dexter football players will be wearing gold ribbons on their socks in September – beginning this weekend when they battle against crosstown rival Chelsea, a team the Dreadnaughts haven't beaten in 25 years.
"I want to make this as big as breast cancer is in October," Parachek said of raising awareness for childhood cancer. "Everybody wears pink in October. And that is great. But this is important too."
Model (Rome, Ga.) is in the runner-up position on the 2019 team leaderboard after raising $1,200 to date, while Dexter and Chopticon sit third and fourth after bringing in $980 and $967, respectively.
There are multiple ways to get involved with the Touchdowns Against Cancer campaign:
- Join as a Captain. Anyone can become a Captain of their team’s Touchdowns Against Cancer campaign. As the Captain, you will play the key role in making a difference in your community. Captains are in charge of rallying support for the campaign and will receive regular communications from Touchdowns Against Cancer about promoting your campaign.
- Get involved as a student. As a student or student-athlete, you have an incredible opportunity to support Touchdowns Against Cancer. You can create your personal fundraising profile on your team’s page and raise money for every touchdown your team scores. You’ll receive recognition on your team’s the Fundraiser Leaderboard every time someone pledges or donates.
