Just days before Green Hill High School squared off against Mt. Juliet in the Mayor’s Cup, 15-year-old Alex Caskey and his family got news no one wants to hear: Alex had been diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. Friday night, as the Hawks took the field for one of the city’s biggest rivalry games, Caskey’s teammates made sure he wasn’t just watching from the sidelines as a bystander.
Alex Caskey attends Green Hill High School, one of the schools in the Mayor’s Cup rivalry.
The post also urged the Mt. Juliet community to rally behind Caskey and his family, sharing a Venmo donation link under the handle @kelly-caskey-7, with the account’s last four digits listed as 9770, for anyone wanting to help directly.
A Diagnosis That Falls Outside the Odds
Ewing sarcoma is considered rare even among childhood cancers. Nationally, the National Cancer Institute reports that Ewing sarcoma and related bone sarcomas occurred at a rate of just 3.0 cases per 1 million among children and adolescents younger than 20 between 2016 and 2020. That statistic underscores how unusual Ewing sarcoma is.
No medical team or family statement beyond the city’s social media post has been shared describing what comes next for Caskey, and it remains unclear whether the Venmo account is still actively collecting donations. For now, the only confirmed avenue for community support is the link the city circulated alongside news of his diagnosis.
The Mayor’s Cup Rivalry
The Mayor’s Cup has a history of swinging back and forth between the two Mt. Juliet-area rivals. In 2022, Mount Juliet beat Green Hill 26-19 to claim both the Mayor’s Cup and 5A Region 5, a win sealed by two fourth-quarter touchdowns, according to Rutherford Source. That report also noted Mount Juliet Mayor James Maness presented the trophy to the winning team that year.
Green Hill has had its own stretch of dominance in the rivalry. A separate report from Yahoo Sports described a 42-14 Green Hill win over Mt. Juliet and referred to the Hawks as four-time consecutive Mayor’s Cup winners. The same account noted Green Hill finished a regular season 8-2 and atop its region at 4-1, a reminder of just how competitive the two programs have been in recent seasons.
Community Rallies Around One of Its Own
None of that history was the focus Friday night. The moment belonged to a 15-year-old who found out he was facing a rare cancer diagnosis just as his team prepared for one of the biggest games of the year, and whose teammates chose to put him front and center in their celebration anyway. The City of Mt. Juliet’s post framed the game ball and trophy presentation as a show of support for Caskey as he begins whatever comes next.
The city’s Facebook page, which the post identifies as the official account for the City of Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, has built a following of more than 28,000 people.
