By MATT SCHUCKMAN
Herald-Whig Sports Writer
Brian Lewton knows his phone is going to ring early Saturday morning and his step-father, Bill Behymer, will want to break down the Quincy High School football team's regular-season finale at Chatham Glenwood.
"I bet we'll talk for an hour and a half," said Lewton, a member of Quincy's coaching staff.
That's only if Behymer waits until Saturday to call.
"Sometimes he calls me late on Friday night," Lewton said.
The impatience is understandable.
Behymer still considers the Blue Devils his boys, having coached them in seventh and eighth grade when he planted the notion they could someday win a Western Big Six Conference championship.
At that time, such a notion seemed a little far-fetched.
"My brother played for Quincy High when I was that age, so I don't know if I believed it or not," said junior quarterback Mitch Marold, who helped QHS finished second in the WB6 with a 4-1 record. "But Coach Behymer was the first one to enter that into my mind."
His opportunities to see it happen are dwindling. Behymer is battling mesothelioma, a form of cancer in which malignant cells form in the outer lining of the lungs and internal chest wall.
Lewton noted the cancer is aggressive by nature, but Behymer is maintaining as much of a normal routine as possible. That includes staying up-to-date with the progress of the QHS football program.
"He's anxious to see what is going to happen this Friday," Lewton said.
Having seen this team up close gave Behymer a feel for what it might accomplish.
Three weeks ago, despite chilly temperatures on a windy Friday night, Behymer bundled himself up in a QHS football jacket and sat in his wheelchair on the track near the north end zone at Flinn Stadium as the Blue Devils dispatched Galesburg 27-14.
Afterward, the players one-by-one stopped to shake hands or hug Behymer as they made their way to the locker room.
"I think it meant a lot to him," senior defensive end Josh Weisenburger said. "I thought I saw his eyes tearing up when he was over there shaking everybody's hands. It meant so much for him to be a part of something like that.
"He's pretty much the one who helped show us we could be as successful as we are today. He was the first one to put in our minds to be a family. He brought us all together."
Together, they showed their appreciation.
"He was so joyful that the kids remembered him and the coaches went up and talked to him," Lewton said. "He was so thankful he was able to share another opportunity out on the football field with the kids. That's really special for him.
"He put the football mentality into those kids."
They haven't forgotten that.
"He means a lot to us since he brought us up from the beginning," Marold said. "It was good to see him out of the house and enjoying it."
Behymer is enjoying the Blue Devils' success as much as anyone, something Lewton discovers every Saturday morning when he answers his phone.
"He's very thankful for the success (QHS coach Rick Little) has had and he knows Rick's been putting the kids in great situations to be successful," Lewton said.
-- mschuckman@whig.com/221-3366
