Two El Paso youth football teams help young cancer patient’s dream come true

BG Spartans and The Northeast Bulldogs youth football team helped make the dream of a young cancer patient come true Saturday morning.

“Today in the morning we were talking about how he’s gonna make the touchdown and he’s like, ‘Im gonna be like you,’ but I feel like he shouldnt be like me, I should be like him,” said Mario Lerma, older brother of Stevie Lerma.

Stevie was diagnosed with brain cancer earlier this year. Watching his big brother play football was a way for him to get his mind off the treatments he has to undergo daily.

“He wanted to be part of the football team because his older brother is with the Spartans and his sister is a cheerleader and he had been wanting to be part of the team,” said Crystal Lerma, Stevie’s mom.

Crystal took it upon herself to post a video on Facebook asking the coaches of BG Spartans if her son could somehow become a part of the team.

“And the coaches saw and the team gathered together and and they made him an honorary Spartans team member,” said Crystal.

On top of being an honorary team member, Stevie had the chance to make a touchdown during the teams game Saturday morning against the Northeast Bulldogs.

“It’s brought up his spirits a lot. I actually didnt see the difference till it happened,” said Crystal.

For the coaches, Saturday’s special event was something they were proud of.

“It says a lot about the charachter of our kids. The parents of the kids, they teach their kids well and they see Stevie and they want him to be part of everything,” said Joseph King, head coach for BG Spartans.

For little Stevie, being a part of the team helped him forget about his worries.

“The days we’re out of treatment we come here and now that they went ahead and showed him that he’s part of the team I just saw that his spirits changed and he’s so excited,” said Crystal.