By Monica Volante and Annette Lawless | Fox 8 News
CLEVELAND — A 5-year-old Browns fan is beating cancer one touchdown at a time!
Ryan Encinas, of Cuyahoga Falls, got the opportunity thanks to The Littlest Heroes program and an idea by Head Coach Rob Chudzinski’s son, Kaelan, according to the Cleveland Browns.
At two years old, Ryan and his family went to the doctor for what his parents thought was an ordinary cold. Ryan was diagnosed with a tumor in his left lung and for the next six weeks, he stayed at the hospital for chemotherapy and radiation.
Friday, Ryan celebrated two years in remission from cancer. He will start kindergarten this fall.
Ryan was selected to attend training camp Wednesday by The Littlest Heroes program. Coach Chudzinski presented him with a custom uniform.
“He got to meet a lot of the players,” Ryan’s mother Angela Bozic said. “They signed a football for him. He even challenged some of the football players to race him that day, so he got his workout and his practice in for that run.”
Ryan and his family attended ‘Family Night’ after Coach Chudzinski’s son brainstormed the idea for Ryan to score a touchdown.
With his custom jersey on, Ryan ran into the end zone Saturday, surrounded by cheering Browns players and coaches.
“Seeing him in a football uniform is something that I thought that I would never experience,” Bozic said. “It was quite overwhelming in that moment, seeing him run out into the field, completely uninhibited, un-intimidated.”
Midway through the field, Ryan loses control of the ball, but then picks it back up for the win.
“I threw a touchdown, yeah,” said Ryan. “Yeah, but I missed my touchdown when I went to the end of the field.”
Even after a fumble, Ryan proved to a crowd of over 24,000 that he was still Saturday night’s M.V.P.