WESTFIELD, Ind. — Westfield kicker Caleb King was playing for something bigger than football in his final season. Every Friday night, the senior was playing to raise money for childhood cancer research.
"My pressure on a 40-yard field goal is nothing the same," King told 13News in October. "It's absolutely nowhere near. When I was a little kid, I got to go outside and ride my bike every day. Those kids don't get to do that. They have to sit in a hospital and yeah, they may have people come through and cheer them up, but it's just not the same."
For every point he scored this season, King vowed to donate money to Alex's Lemonade Stand.
The Shamrocks made it all the way to the IHSAA state championship game. Ultimately, they saw a repeat of 2020 and fell to the defending champions from Center Grove. But King has another reason to celebrate. He finished out the season raising more than $15,000.
He asked the community to pledge $2 for every point he scored during games for the Shamrocks. He ended the season with 76 points. Between pledges and additional one-time donations from the community, he tallied more than seven times his goal.
"Thank you to everyone who supported this passion of mine," King tweeted Wednesday.
King still has hopes to play in college, but he first wanted to choose to focus on helping others in his final high school season.