Roosevelt Senior Fighting Cancer Nominated for 'Rudy' Award

Don't let Ryan Anderson fool you.

His battle with bone cancer may force him to use a crutch to get around occassionally, but that hasn't stopped him from attending every home Rough Riders football game this season.

Better still, the osteogenic sarcoma in his femur couldn't stop his latest accomplishment — being crowned 2011 Homecoming King this past weekend.

Now his mother, coach and supporters are hopeful for another big success — 2011 Rudy Award Winner.

Anderson's coach, John Nemec, nominated the former star lineman for the award this fall that celebrates "outstanding young athletes — not because of their statistical performance, but because of their ability to inspire teammates, classmates and communities."

"That’s definitely Ryan’s story now," his mother, Sharon Zurbrugg, said. "I think it’s really quite an honor that coach Nemec thought of him for that."

This season, Anderson's Friday nights have been spent mostly on the sideline or bench. But last winter he was rated by national football scouting services as one of the top players in Ohio. He entertained football scholarship offers from myriad top schools, including the University of Michigan and Ohio State University.

He was lighting up the field until this past spring when doctors discovered the bone cancer in his leg. Since then, the 18-year-old (his birthday was Sunday, Oct. 2) has undergone surgery and almost a dozen rounds of chemotherapy. And he's been forced to watch his senior season play out from the sidelines.

"This fall our football players chose Ryan Anderson to serve as one of our team captains, knowing he could never play football again," Nemec wrote in his nomination. "It is indictative of the impact he had on others. Ryan is providing our team with outstanding leadership from the sidelines.

"The chemo makes Ryan very ill, but he refuses to miss our games," Nemec wrote. "He is an inspiration to all of us."

Zurbrugg described her son as a mentor for the younger offensive linemen on the team, all but one of whom are new players.

"I think he’s kind of like a junior coach," she said.

The Rudy Award is named after Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, who inspired the 1993 film Rudy about the young man trying for the Notre Dame football team. Of hundreds of national nominees, 12 finalists for the award will split $25,000 in scholarships. The winner will receive a $7,500 scholarship.

Supporters can go to Anderson's page on the award website to vote for him and post comments of support.

"Anybody who can vote for him, is willing to spend the time and vote for him, it’s appreciated," Zurbrugg said. "The selection process is, in large part, a fan vote. So that would certainly help him in making it at least to the finals."

She encouraged people to leave notes on his page about how Anderson has inspired them.

"That’s another thing they look at; how has he touched other people and been inspirational to them," she said. "And that will help him in the process."

Click on this link to cast your vote or leave a note of support for Anderson.

This Friday will be the first Rough Riders game he won't attend this season. Anderson was submitted to Akron Children's Hospital Monday for another round of chemotherapy. He'll be in the hospital Friday and unable to make the game.

Zurbrugg said physically he is very anemic because of the therapy.

"Other than that, he’s doing pretty well," she said. "He can’t play, but he’s still part of the team."