By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

          The end of about a month at home was coming quickly, capped by watching the Super Bowl before heading to Florida for a few months of training.

          Part of the squeezed schedule for Quintez Cephus? A Sunday afternoon trip to Warner Robins to visit Aiden Rozier, a 10-year-old who lives across the street from Rigby’s Entertainment Complex but is battling a cancer that has already led to the amputation of part of one leg.

          The youngster known as Tank has had a wish list, a broad wish list, and one hope was to meet a pro football player.

          Enter Cephus. Stratford tennis coach Jaime Kaplan saw a Facebook post from Mary Catherine Liberty, a friend also of the Roziers, about Aiden wanting to meet a football player. So Kaplan got the wheels in motion between Cephus, his management agency, Liberty and David Perdue Elementary principal Andy Payne, and the Roziers.

          Thus, a Super Bowl Sunday visit from an NFL player.

          “I’ve just admired the way that you’ve handled yourself, and put smiles on people’s faces even though you may be going through a lot,” Cephus said. “I just wanted to come here and say ‘hello’ to you and spend some time with you.”

          Rozier’s mother Linda said Aiden was currently in some pain, and his energy level was a little lower than usual.

          Rozier was diagnosed in the summer of 2019 with osteosarcoma, and the cancer spread. Since then, he has been compiling – and checking off – a list of things and people.

          Cephus earned one of those checks on Sunday, sitting the family’s living room for about 10 minutes to chat with Rozier. The youngster said the jersey was a little itchy, but his mom got him to try it on and a picture with the Stratford grad.

          “I think anytime when you have an opportunity to put a smile on someone’s face, it’s important. God’s put you in a position. I’m an athlete. People look up to athletes, and God put me in this position, and I want to do everything in my power to pay it forward.

          “Doing things like coming to see Aiden, someone who’s having a tough time, going through some things, to just come here and see a smile on his face because of my presence, it’s always a blessing to be able to do that.”