GCC kicker Slike making a difference for childhood cancer awareness

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, September 23, 2017 | 9:21 PM

By his estimation, Ethan Slike's football season “has been going well.” But the Greensburg Central Catholic senior kicker is not nearly satisfied.

Sure, he wants more wins, more touchbacks and more field goals. But he also wants to continue his mission to help those battling cancer.

Slike, who is 6 for 6 on extra points and 4 for 4 on field goals this season, also has not missed in his execution of a charitable act.

“I've decided to dedicate my season to fighting childhood cancer,” Slike said. “It was just the right thing to do. I was presented the opportunity at a Kohl's Kicking Camp last summer and decided to take a shot at making a difference in something even greater than the game of football. It was a way for me to make a difference in someone else's life while doing something I love.”

Slike teamed with Kick-It, an affiliate of the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, “a national volunteer-driven effort focused solely on raising money for childhood cancer research.”

Slike has a web page that accepts pledges. Every point he makes is worth an amount. People can pledge as much as they want, per points.

For example, if he finishes with 30 points this season, the person would donate $60.

Donations also are being accepted on the web page at kick-it.org.

Slike's goal is to raise $1,000. As of Thursday, he had raised $275.

“Ethan is a great kid on and off the field,” GCC coach Aaron Smetanka said. “He is raising money for a great cause.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.