Oak Harbor Youth Football League players learned this season that football, brutal as it can be, is just a game, and that life sometimes hits much harder than a tackle.

The team of 11- and 12-year-olds did its best to soften one of life’s cruelest blows that struck the family of teammate Jared McDonald.

The juniors played their final game Saturday; two days later, John McDonald, Jared’s father, lost his battle with cancer.

Early in October, the team dedicated its season to John, hoping to help him enjoy the last moments he would share with his son.

Heather McDonald, John’s wife, said John was “overwhelmed” when he found out the boys wanted to dedicate the season to him, thus supporting him in his fight with cancer.

John loved the game of football, Heather said, and he was “so happy he could share that with Jared and this group of boys.”

The team, although in the midst of Seahawk country, wore wristbands striped in the black and gold of John’s favorite team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, to show their commitment to him.

Team mom Kaui Asinsin, with a big assist from Big 5, gathered the wristbands; and Big 5 donated a Steelers blanket for the junior team to present to John McDonald.

Asinsin and her husband Nick, the team’s coach, made the initial decision to honor John during cancer awareness month. The wristbands replaced the traditional pink worn by teams supporting the cause.

The players first wore the wristbands Oct. 4, and after the game, coach Asinsin explained to the team and the parents the significance of the gesture. Jared then presented his father with the Steeler blanket.

This goes beyond football, Heather McDonald said. For John and her, the greatest story line wasn’t the support the team afforded John but its effort to help Jared through it all.

“It is special to see the mutual love and adoration the kids have for each other, that the parents have for each other,” she said.

“Jared knows he is not in this alone. It is important that he knows that there are people he can go to.”

Kaui Asinsin said the parents have expressed that they are “blessed and overwhelmed by the lesson that was being taught to their sons.”

“I saw the impact that it made on my son,” Kaui Asinsin said. “This unfortunate situation brought our team closer and made us a family.”

After the team lost in the semifinals of the league tournament Saturday, Nick Asinsin reminded the boys that they played  “for a greater purpose.”

The rallying cry for the team this season was “We Got Mac’s Back.”

The players and parents are hoping to continue that support now that the season is over.

There is talk of hosting an annual softball or golf tournament to help the family.

Recently, the players’ parents presented the McDonalds with a variety of gift cards, helped with meals and set up an account for donations to help Jared’s future, the Jared McDonald Benefit Account at People’s Bank.