Sycamore High School football game highlights organ donation awareness, honoring coach’s journey

CINCINNATI (WXIX) -The Sycamore High School football game against Princeton Friday night, sponsored by Network For Hope, a nonprofit promoting organ donation for tissue transplantation, became a platform for awareness, especially for Head Coach Darryn Chenault, who received a kidney nearly two years ago.

Darryn’s second chance at life comes thanks to a living kidney donation from his nephew, Aaron, who also coaches on the team.

“If it wasn’t Aaron, I don’t know where I’d be. I’d probably still be waiting,” he said.

The evening also featured 21-year-old Mario Jarrett, who served as the Honorary Captain for the game and shared his story alongside “Network for Hope.”

“I was a high school student athlete at Schroder High School in my 11th-grade year, and I was doing track and field, and I ended up collapsing and getting an open heart surgery, then later on transitioning and getting a heart transplant,” Jarrett said.

Jarrett, a former high school athlete himself, shared his inspiring story, highlighting the need for more organ donors.

“Thousands of people die probably a day waiting on a transplant,” he said. “So it can give people a second chance at life,” Jarrett said.

Coach Chenault’s daughter, Kennedy, says she was motivated to join the Network For Hope team after witnessing her father’s experience.

“After he got his kidney, it opened my eyes, and I really wanted to give back to my community,” she noted. “It means the world to me. That guy out there, he’s my best friend, so seeing him do what he loves to do, which is coach these players and hype them up, means the world to me,” Kennedy added.

The head coach expressed his gratitude as well, stating, “It’s a beautiful thing. Just having my daughter out here tonight is a beautiful thing. My sister, my wife, my family – I’m here. I got a second chance at this, and that’s all you want.”

In addition to the football festivities, another community organization, “Off the List” focused on finding living kidney donors was present.

They received a $5,000 check at halftime from Network For Hope to further their mission.

Attendees at the game had the opportunity to register as organ donors, with a reminder that registration is always available online.

This initiative highlights the importance of organ donation and encourages everyone to consider making a life-saving commitment.

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