For senior Alex Arndt, there is nothing like Chandler High School Football. But last year at this time, Alex wasn't sure he would ever suit up again.

Near the start of last season, Alex began feeling fatigued and had soreness in his midsection. Doctors discovered he had leukemia.

“We had a healthy 16-year-old boy,” said Alex’s mom, Julie Arndt. “Active, playing football. that weekend totally shocked."

“The leukemia I had was not responsive to chemotherapy,” Alex said. “That was when they were looking at a bone marrow transplant and they started looking to my siblings for the best match for a transplant.”

Alex’s brother, Chandler, came into this world fighting for his life as a premature baby. Now he was about to save the life of his brother with a bone marrow transplant.

“Before the transplant and stuff, Alex and I really played around,” Chandler said. “But now we’re just like big brother and little brother, working together and playing together.”

Alex's recovery was grueling, but he worked his way back to school and to the football field in one year's time – a testament to his mental toughness forged by football.

“That little bit of extra motivation certainly was there for him to want to recover, and get back on the football field in time for this season again,” said Alex’s dad, Wayne Arndt.

“I didn't know what was going to happen, and I didn't know if I was going to be there,” Alex said.

"Football teaches life lessons,” said Chandler football coach Jim Ewan. “You get knocked down and you’ve got to get back up and you have to keep competing. You got to show up everyday and you got to work hard. Alex is a walking example of that philosophy.”

Alex returned to practice with his Chandler teammates in June and soon afterward, he was again playing under the lights.

“The first time I saw him run out on the field, it was incredible,” Alex’s mom said. “I kept watching on the sidelines to see is Alex going in the game, is he going in the game. And when I saw him run out on the field in his football uniform, it was incredible.”

“To say that I've been cancer free for a year or less than a year, it's unbelievable, Alex said. “And to be able to tell someone if they try and they decide to, I can be an inspiration.”