For two Los Gatos football players, Breast Cancer Awareness Month took on a new meaning

LOS GATOS — Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October was deeply personal for Los Gatos High football players Colin Dooley and Jack Saul.

Dooley’s mother, Amy Stavis, found out two months ago that she has breast cancer. Saul’s father Kevin died from appendiceal cancer six years ago.

When Dooley first heard the news about his mom, Saul was one of the first people he told.

“I told my girlfriend and my best friend. Outside of that, Jack was the first person I told,” Dooley said. “It was really eating me inside not telling anyone.”

Saul told Dooley at that time about his father.

“I guess that’s the thing that really brought us close,” said Dooley about their connection with cancer. “It’s like that mutual respect whenever we see each other. It never comes up any more, but we both understand … what he went through and what I’m going through.”

“This definitely made us have even more of a better connection,” Saul said. “We can relate to each other in ways others can’t.”

Los Gatos began November with a victory over Milpitas to complete a 10-0 regular season. The Wildcats will play on their home field Friday night against Bellarmine in the first round of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs.

Saul is a senior starting linebacker for the Wildcats, and Dooley is a junior starting offensive guard.

There were ceremonies about breast cancer awareness at the Wildcats’ home game against Homestead on Oct. 8. Saul and Dooley were Los Gatos team captains for that game, which the Wildcats won 37-0. Saul had seven total tackles, a sack and a caused fumble in the victory.

“I definitely felt a little more emotional during that game than others since we were representing breast cancer or cancer in general,” Saul said. “(Colin and myself) had a good conversation, and I said I’m here for him.”

Stavis sits at an area at a side of the press box for Los Gatos home games.

“(Los Gatos athletic director Ken) Perrotti and (Coach Mark) Krail have been incredible, making it safe for me to be there,” Stavis said. “They’ve made it possible for me to attend home games safely, without having to come in through the main gate and being part of the bigger crowd.”

“Whenever I’m on the sideline, I catch myself looking in the stands, looking for her,” Dooley said. “Whenever she can be there for any sporting event (of mine), she always makes it.

“I always know if my mom can go through something like that, I have no excuse for not winning the matchup in front of me. Anything I can do to make her proud of me or put a smile on her face, that’s all the motivation there.”

“Nothing brings me more joy than watching him be happy playing the sport that he loves,” Stavis said. “Any parent feels joy when they can see their child thrive in the sport that they love.”

Stavis is one of the varsity team moms.” “It’s such a good escape for me,” she said. “Still being part of the team and getting the program ready helped distract me during an otherwise trying time.”

Saul said that before games, he always thinks about his dad, “how he would love to see me play. I know he would do anything to see me play. … He fought (cancer) for so long, I could only return the favor and fight for him.

“One of the biggest things I know he loved was watching me or any of my siblings play sports. … He loved watching and talking sports and playing.” Kevin Saul, who grew up in Pennsylvania, played lacrosse for Tufts University in Massachusetts.

Dooley’s girlfriend Lauren Fried is a leader of the American Cancer Society club on the Los Gatos High School campus. In the Homestead game, the Wildcats football teams wore pink socks sold by the club.

Dooley said that his mother has been involved in his football career “in every way possible … She has made it as easy for me to achieve my goals as possible.”

He talked about Stavis driving him to Santa Clara five days a week for Pop Warner practice in eighth grade, then to games around the Bay Area on Saturdays.

Stavis said that Colin and herself really appreciate their friends in the community and the football team. “It is what has helped us to get through this,” she said.

“He just lifts me every day by giving me a chronology of how he’s doing at school and reminding me that he’s o.k. I have to ask a lot less now,” said Stavis about her son. “He’s been very communicative about what’s going on with him. He helps me, he hugs me for longer. These may seem like little things, but they are so important. … I can forget I have it when I’m around him because I’m so happy being with him.