Cruisers Evans And Hanly Play In All-Star Football Showcase

On Monday, January 17th the 5th Annual Cleats vs Cancer All-Star Showcase game was played at Pop Keeney Stadium in Bothell, WA.

Eatonville High School seniors Julian Evans and Blain Hanly were nominated by their coaches and were selected to play in this game.

Eatonville seniors Blain Hanly and Julian Evans pose with the team trophy after their South team defeated the North in the 5th annual Cleats vs Cancer game. Photo: Julian Evans

Both played for the South team which picked up the win over the North team 20-16.

“Being selected for this game was an honor. This was not about me, this was for a greater cause, which I love!” said senior Julian Evans.

Julian informed me that he was playing the game in honor of a couple of people. One was his girlfriend Taylor Limbird’s Grandfather Arthur Ray Flowers who recently passed this past November. He was also playing in honor of Trinity Potter, who is currently battling cancer. Trinity works at Eatonville HS and is also the wife of Cruiser football assistant coach Wes Potter.

With this officially being the last game of his high school career, Julian gave props to a few of his coaches, "Knowing this is my last game as a Cruiser is hard to grasp. All the glory to Coach Gavin Kralik and Coach Wes Potter for forming me into the man I am today".

“The highlight of the day was being able to play in one last game with my friend Blain. We have been playing together since 3rd grade,” said Evans.

With this also being Hanly’s last game of his high school career, he had a few emotions.

“It threw a lot of emotions at me, I was sad that it was our last game, happy I got to play one last game and ball out at the next level. Also, it made me really nervous for the future, now I have to find a new home for 4 years.”

“Playing in this game was a huge honor. Julian and I really worked hard and got to see it pay off.

With the South team picking up the victory, Hanly said "Winning the game was really exciting, and being able to honor Coach Sparks during the game that he created was special."

Both Hanly and Evans now set their sights on their post-high school plans. Both have offers to play at the next level. Now it's just a matter of choosing the right school that fits them best.

A little history and information about Cleats vs Cancer.

Cleats vs Cancer was founded in 2018 by Derek Sparks, former Washington State running back and 1994 Alamo Bowl veteran. It is the first high school All-Star game, featuring many of the state of Washington's most outstanding senior football players, in which proceeds benefit children and families battling cancer.

Sparks, who was an assistant coach at Pacific Lutheran University and a football Coach at Kennedy Catholic High School, was thrust into the fight against cancer when his daughter, Ze’Lee, was stricken with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in 2018. Thankfully, Ze’Lee is now cancer-free. In August of 2021, Derek was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and began his own fight against cancer. He fought a valiant fight but sadly lost his battle with cancer on November 23, 2021.

Cleats vs Cancer is fueled by allowing high school football players to showcase their football skills to help lead them into a football opportunity in college. The players and coaches who participate in our All-Star Games and Skills Camps also know that their participation is for a greater cause than just football. Cancer has touched the lives of so many of our participants. Their cancer stories are our driving force. Cleats vs Cancer is about bringing people together through the love of football to help families battling