LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The college football season is over and we’re already looking forward to next year. Not all schools had a season.
Arkansas Baptist College was forced to postpone theirs. For one of their defensive backs, he lost his season and could’ve lost his life.
Kevin Montoya, like any high school star, dreamed of playing in college.
Montoya, a New Orleans native, signed with the ABC assistant Ashdone Bailey who recognized his talents and convinced Montoya to be a Buffalo.
Kevin arrived on campus in August. He practiced for three weeks when suddenly he knew something was wrong.
"I just told the head coach, Coach Wilson, 'Coach, I need to go to the doctor,' and I went and that’s when they told me everything," Montoya said.
At just 19 years old, Kevin was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
"I was just wondering, why? Why me? At 19. It was crazy, I thought it would only happen to older people," he said.
Kevin began treatment in November and decided to attack his diagnosis the only way he knew how -- like a wide receiver.
"Ignore it, move on. Just basically like a DB mentality. Move on to the next play," he explained.
Fight until the last whistle, or in Kevin’s case, the last bell as he received his final cancer treatment.
"Haven’t been that happy in a minute. It felt good knowing you don’t have to come back, sit there, and put all the stuff in you. It felt good," he said.
Kevin plans to return to Little Rock later this year and suit up for Arkansas Baptist next season.