Eagles support Almond-Bancroft alumni’s battle with cancer

Kenneth Smith and his family thanked the Almond-Bancroft community before the game for their support through his battle with cancer. The evening doubled as a fundraiser to support the family, complete with basket, cake and 50/50 raffles, food service, and a halftime duck-chuck.

Almond’s Davis Dernbach takes a jump shot as Zachary Jeidy steps up to contest it.

Senior Forward Ayden Phillips jumps for a layup, defended by Pacelli’s Zachary Jeidy.

Almond-Bancroft students pose for a group shot.

Posted Thursday, February 13, 2025 11:37 am

News staff

It seemed as though the entire community of Almond was present for their Feb. 7 matchup against their conference rivals, the Pacelli Cardinals.

While this particular game was important in regards to their run for another conference championship, there was much more to it than that. February 7th also served as an opportunity for the community to rally around Kenneth Smith, a 2010 Almond-Bancroft Alumni, friend, and neighbor as he and his family go through a difficult battle with a rare and aggressive form of cancer. Kenneth’s sister, Kayla Smith shared her family’s gratitude for the support and that after a recent surgery to amputate his left arm, Kenneth is currently cancer free. Kenneth and his fiancé, MeKenna Ruzic, received a standing ovation as they took center court and thanked everyone for their generous support through unfathomable circumstances.

“You can’t grow an arm back, but you can cope and find a good quality of life after cancer,” says Kenneth, “I don’t know if my cancer will come back one day but in the meantime, I’m going to make sure I have a heck of a time.”

Once the players took the court it was all business and with the stands packed by fans from both teams, the energy was palpable. Almond-Bancroft was coming off of their first conference loss of the season, a 62-63 upset at Port Edwards, and were determined not to repeat.

The visiting Cardinals took an early lead as the Eagles were slow to get their offense rolling, but once they did it wasn’t long before they captured the lead and kept it. The Eagles led by 13 points at halftime and while Pacelli would make several attempts to battle back in the second half, they were repeatedly stopped short of catching up.

Almond-Bancroft finished the game leading 69-59 improving their conference record to 9-1 and all but cementing their latest claim to the Central Wisconsin South Conference Championship with only Rosholt (3-7) and Wild Rose (1-8) left to play.

Three Eagles scored in the double digits this game Ayden Phillips leading the way on a 29 point and 16 rebound double-double.

Clarence Pratt was right behind him with his own double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds and Brody Dernbach rounded it out with 14 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists.

You can catch the Eagles in home-game action again on Feb 18th at 7 p.m. when they’ll host the Nekoosa Papermakers.

By Tyler Weston, Argus Correspondent