Luke Winterbottom beat cancer once and is confident he’ll do it again.
The Plymouth Whitemarsh senior running back was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma last November and declared cancer-free this March. At the end of June, after returning to the field and working up to 100%, the cancer came back.
After missing summer workouts with treatment, Winterbottom practiced the first week of the heat acclimatization period starting August 7. He said he was feeling good on Friday Aug. 11, halfway through his four rounds of chemotherapy. His goal is to be fully back for the first game of the regular season against Upper Merion Friday Aug. 25.
“Seeing that I can beat it and knowing what it takes to beat it definitely helps with the second go-around,” Winterbottom said.
“Goal is to be ready Week 1, which might be a little optimistic, but I’m going to try.”
“It’s crazy for sure,” PW coach Dan Chang said. “He’s been fighting through a lot of stuff. We’re just glad that he’s out here with us – able to play, able to run around. I’m excited to see what he can do.”
The symptoms started last August for Winterbottom when he lost weight and had itchy skin. He developed a bad cough after a September game against Quakertown and went to see doctors. He tried a number of different medicines and it got misdiagnosed multiple times as asthma.
He missed the Colonials final game of the season — a District 1-5A semifinal game against Upper Dublin — with the flu and the following week he felt a lump in his chest. A trip to the emergency revealed it was Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Winterbottom had five rounds of chemotherapy and radiation treatments before being declared cancer-free in March.
It has been a long year, but Winterbottom has felt the support from his family, friends and community throughout the process.
“I’ve had endless support,” he said. “It’s made it so much easier to get to where I was. From the football team to the basketball team, my family, friends, my whole neighborhood. Everyone has been supportive so much. It’s been great.”
“These guys are super supportive,” Chang said of the football team. “Everyone’s constantly asking about Luke, how he’s doing. We made trips to his house. There were team meals organized for him and his family. We’re all about supporting him and trying to keep him strong through that whole process.
“Basketball team was in on it. There were ‘Luke Strong’ t-shirts everywhere that were going around. Definitely a whole school, community feel.”
During his junior season, Winterbottom starred on the field despite everything he was going through. He helped lead the Colonials to a Suburban One League American Conference championship and earned first team All-League honors after running for 988 yards and 14 touchdowns. He averaged 11.6 yards per carry.
Winterbottom hopes to lead PW to a district championship this season, earn first team All-League again and be named to the All-State team. He still wants to play college football after high school.
“I guess it’s a little tricky for college coaches to commit to someone who’s going through this right now,” he said, “but I hope they know I’m going to beat it and I don’t want this to deter them from recruiting me.”
IANNOZZI IN AT QB
Aiden O’Brien graduated after quarterbacking the Colonials to back-to-back District 1-5A semifinals appearances in 2021 and 2022.
Enter Anthony Iannozzi.
Iannozzi was O’Brien’s backup last season and learned while watching the first team All-SOL American selection run the Colonials veer option offense.
“I liked watching him,” Iannozzi, who feels at home as the QB1, said. “I learned from him. He was a smart kid. He did everything right. He was just a good kid to learn from.”
The senior said he learned how to run the offense, push his teammates and bring energy at practice from O’Brien. Chang said the leadership has been on display all offseason.
In PW’s offense, the quarterback needs to be able to throw the ball and run the ball. Iannozzi checks both boxes.
“He’s really stepped into the leadership role here,” Chang said. “He is strong-armed, he can run, he’s smart, he’s physical. He’s going to be a good player for us.
“He’s a legit, dual-threat here. He’s got a cannon for an arm and he’s one of the fastest guys on our team. We’re going to use both of those things for us.”
MORE PHYSICAL ROLE FOR BOGGS
Senior Nazye Boggs returns after earning first team All-SOL American honors at cornerback during his junior season. This year he’ll be playing a hybrid strong safety/linebacker role.
“He’s a pretty physical kid,” Chang said, “so we thought he could come down and play a little bit of linebacker as well.”
“I’m excited to see what’s going to happen,” Boggs said, “just because I’m a physical kid. I like getting physical. At corner, there just wasn’t enough physicality back there. I’m going to try safety and see how it goes.”
Boggs, who’s stands 6-foot-1 and 160 pounds, played some linebacker when he was younger, but has mostly been a cornerback on defense. He also plays running back on the offensive side of the ball and earned All-SOL American honorable mention as a junior.
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