Touchdowns Against Cancer: Rally Week results

Now the Braves just have to keep putting it into the end zone in an effort to raise money to help St. Jude Children's Research Hospital fight childhood cancer.

"Obviously, we want to put it in the end zone because it helps you win football games and it supports the cause," Lisanti said. "We don't have that many team members, so we have to get out in the community and get pledges."

The Braves climb all the way to the top of the team leaderboard after rallying to bring in 34 new pledges last week. Smithson Valley (Spring Branch, Texas) was in the runner-up position with 17 new pledges as time ran out Sunday evening while Ganado (Texas) sat third with 11 new pledges.

Touchdowns Against Cancer: Learn more, see leaderboards

As of Monday evening, the 1-1 Braves have raised a national-best $4,354 at the halfway point of the campaign, which runs through September. Not only is Chopticon winning on the football field, Lisanti's club is making an impact 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 their favorite football team scores in September.

Should the Braves hold onto the top spot for the next two weeks, Chopticon would become the first school in four years of Touchdowns Against Cancer campaigns to win a second team title. Whittier Christian (La Habra, Calif.) claimed the 2016 title by raising $11,053. In 2017, the Braves raised $12,013 while Lausanne Collegiate (Memphis, Tenn.) raised a record $21,267 a year ago.

Individually, Connor Heffler of St. Augustine (San Diego, Calif.) has raised $2,148 to lead the rest of the field heading into the third week of September action. P.J. O'Toole of Smithson Valley has raised $1,580 while Tyson Gregory is leading the way for Chopticon with $815.

"My great grandmother's favorite charity was St. Jude," Gregory said. "So when she passed away, my family kind of kept it going. Everybody started doing it. They'll all donate to a good thing."

St. Augustine, last week's leader, trails the Braves by a mere $324 in the runner-up position while Wakeland (Frisco, Texas) and Smithson Valley sit third and fourth after bringing in $3,990 and $3,756, respectively. Lone Peak (Gallatin Gateway, Mont.) rallied the troops to raise $3,345 and rounds out this week's Top 5.

As of Monday evening, high school football programs across the nation have scored 666 touchdowns and drawn 727 pledges from donors, raising more than $70,500 for the 2019 campaign. Steinbrenner (Lutz, Fla.) leads the way after scoring 30 touchdowns that count towards pledges this fall. Fort Bend Travis (Richmond, Texas) and Mead (Longmont, Colo.) have hit pay dirt 20 times each.

- Simply, pledge to your team.

- 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 TD your team scores. You'll receive recognition on your team's Fundraiser Leaderboard every time someone pledges or donates!