Star senior lineman Armando Carroll approached Highland Park coach football Dave Zeitchick last month to inform him he’d need to miss a practice to have a biopsy of a lymph node mass.

“And you’re freaking out like, ‘What’s wrong? What’s going on?’ ” recalled Zeitchick, who is fully aware of Carroll’s recent health history. “And he’s like, ‘Oh, it’s nothing, I’ll be back on Friday.’ ”

Sure enough, he was. If Carroll can be on the field, he will be. That’s true in practice or competition.

Carroll is Highland Park’s starting center on an experienced offensive line that paves the way for the Scots’ ground game. He also is team’s best defensive lineman, one who lived in Johnson’s offensive backfield in the season opener.

Oh, and he also handles the team’s kickoff duties.

“I’m an athlete,” said Carroll, who also plays baseball. “I love playing sports, I love being outside, doing my activities.”

That love was reinforced last year when, for a brief period, it was all taken away.

THE DIAGNOSIS

“My mom is very protective,” Armando said.

So, when Camila Carroll first noticed a lump on the side of her son’s face near his ear in the spring of 2023, she sprung into immediate action. Off to the doctor they went.

The pediatrician referred them to the ear, nose and throat specialist. What followed was an ultrasound, CT scan and then a biopsy, all within a span of weeks. Then came surgery at the end of May.

“Everything went by really fast,” Camila recalled.

The intention of the surgery was to remove one tumor. As the procedure progressed, two more were uncovered. It was cancer, but diagnosing the exact type proved challenging. Results were passed around from the University of Minnesota to Mayo Clinic in Rochester to Seattle.

“That’s what took the longest,” Camila said.

Throughout the process, Zeitchick couldn’t count how many times he texted Armando.

“‘Did you hear? What’s happening? Did you hear?’ ” Zeitchick said. “It was waiting and waiting, and he just went about his business. It seemed like it was weighing on all of us a lot more than it was weighing on him.”

At that point, Zeitchick assumed Carroll wouldn’t be available for his junior football campaign. “When you hear ‘cancer,’ ” he said, “everything changes.”

Carroll said he made a point to maintain a positive outlook throughout the waiting game. He credited his parents — Camila and his dad, Alex — for aiding in those efforts, along with his Catholic faith.

“If you’re going to have a negative outlook on it, it just makes a really hard time for you and your family, so I think just having that positive mindset and just being reassured by my family that everything will be OK just really helped out,” he said.

Finally, the results were in, revealing follicular lymphoma, a rare cancer that, per the Cleveland Clinic, affects 3.5 out of every 100,000 people, and is usually found in the elderly. For a teenager, it was a real anomaly.

The Carrolls connected with an oncologist at the U and a full-body scan was conducted to see if the cancer had spread. It hadn’t.

RETURN TO ACTION

The clean scans brought joy and relief, but Carroll’s life was far from back to normal. The facial surgery was intensive. In its wake, he had to take a month off from physical activity — no baseball, no football, no nothing.

“When I had that absence of what I love,” he said, “it was really tough.”

As was the process of working his way back up to physical activity. When the month was up, Camila noted it wasn’t as simple as her son jumping back into the fire. Armando’s body was still healing. It was a slow build.

“It was, honestly, pretty difficult,” he said. “I lost a lot of my strength and conditioning. So, working my way back into trying to get to my peak performance, it was a very hard grind and it was very challenging.”

But Carroll is a believer the idea of coming to work every day with the goal of getting 1 percent better.

“Over time, you’ll grow,” he said. “Just coming in and doing what I love doing, and just being an athlete, it really helped me come in and just try to be better and be myself.”

Around the team’s second minicamp of the summer, Carroll could feel his body getting back into its groove. He was moving freely and executing like he did before, if not better.

“That’s when I thought, ‘I’m back,’ ” he said. “Once I was able to recover and come back from surgery, I think it helped me, so I could take it to a next level and challenge myself even more as an athlete so I could come back better and stronger.”

Zeitchick said Carroll’s challenge was “a huge issue” for the entire team, so seeing the lineman back on the field was “a huge relief.”

“When he was cleared, that day we went nuts at practice,” the coach said.

Because Carroll isn’t just a dominant football player with all-section, and potentially all-state, aspirations. When Zeitchick returned to his post as Highland Park head coach last offseason after a multi-year retirement, Carroll was one of the first players to meet with the coach, buy into his vision and put it into action.

“He’s a go-to guy,” Zeitchick said. “He had invested so much into football that the expectation was if he could be back (on the field), he would be back. That’s just knowing him. He’s a really high-character kid.”

Camila admits there were moments a year ago when she still wondered and worried about whether her son could play, or if something else might happen. But when the time came for Armando to take the field, happiness overcame his parents.

“I kind of like to think of my sports as a place for me to be myself and just be free and just enjoy the moment as an athlete,” Armando said. “Being able to take my mind off the craze of what happened that month and even after, it was just really relieving, because I was able to just be myself and do what I love doing without having to think about what could happen next and what’s going on in real life.”

Carroll’s love for the sport is a breath of fresh air for his coach, who noted there are so many kids who don’t want to play for “a zillion reasons,” ranging from the strenuous nature to the time commitment and beyond.

“He puts that in perspective. He had to have football in his life,” Zeitchick said. “It was a good lesson for all of us.”

MOVING FORWARD

Camila noted the large scar on her son’s face is shrinking, but still visible — evidence of what was endured, and a reminder of an ongoing battle.

Last month’s biopsy showed the lymph node tested was not cancerous, but irregular. Scans will continue every three months to verify that remains the case. Should something change, Carroll’s oncologist is confident it could be handled with relative ease.

“They continue to be very helpful and positive as we continue to navigate the process,” Camila said of the doctors.

Meanwhile, Armando is looking forward. College plans could take multiple avenues. He has considered attending Wisconsin or Minnesota to pursue mechanical engineering while potentially playing club baseball. He also hasn’t ruled out playing junior college baseball.

In the more immediate future, Carroll is excited about the Scots’ chances this fall, believing Highland Park — which plays at Tartan at 6 p.m. Friday — can put it all together and “go on a hot streak.”

Football holds a special place in his heart. Carroll attended a Catholic school prior to high school, so he knew no one when he arrived at Highland Park. But friends quickly emerged in the form of teammates.

“The whole, entire team that I met was just so nice. They introduced me to everybody,” he said. “They made my high school experience, from the beginning, just a great space.”

It’s his mission as a leader to ensure others have a similar experience. It’s not unusual for Carroll’s focus to be on such things.

Camila noted the list of things she’s proud of with Armando is “countless,” but at the top is that he’s “an amazing brother” to 14-year-old Mateo. Last summer, as the family was largely grounded by Armando’s illness, Armando was constantly checking on Mateo.

“Even though he was the one going through it and we were like, ‘This is all about you,’ ” Camila said. “At the end of the day, he always wanted to make sure that his younger brother was OK and that we were all doing fine.”

“I got to realize how important my family is to me,” Carroll said. “It took me a minute, but after I realized how much they do for me, it made me realize how grateful I am for them, and how lucky I am to have them as parents. Even my brother, how lucky I am to have him as a brother. Because my whole family is so supportive of me, and they made me who I am today.”

Sports are back to being a major focal point for the Carrolls. There’s always a practice or game to attend. But Camila noted the family has appreciated the opportunities to pause the “go, go, go” lifestyle to enjoy simple pleasures such as sitting down for family breakfast. They check in with one another far more frequently, and carry the knowledge that together, they can do hard things.

“It really changed our perspective on, yes, anything can happen, but everything has a solution,” Camila said, “and it’s going to be OK.”

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Gophers offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh insisted Wednesday he wasn’t concerned when new transfer quarterback Max Brosmer overthrew his first third-down attempt against North Carolina last week.

Harbaugh quickly came to that conclusion at Huntington Bank Stadium after reviewing the replay on the tablets now available in-game for coaches and players.

“It’s something that I wouldn’t have been able to see in years past,” Harbaugh shared. “But right when I saw it, I knew he was fine. There was no panic. It wasn’t his mind that was going too fast on that particular third down; it was his feet.”

Brosmer had worked through his progression and stepped up in the pocket, but his feet didn’t provide a solid foundation, and he sailed the throw to tight end Jameson Geers. The Gophers went three-and-out and punted.

“He said it right away,” Harbaugh said. “He came right to the player phone (and said), ‘My feet were too fast, I’ll settle down.’ ”

Four of Brosmer’s eight incompletions came in that first quarter (3 of 7), but he had four the rest of the way as he finished with 62 percent completions (13 of 21) for 165 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. On the last two drives of the game, Brosmer had a faster tempo and went 5 for 7 for 95 yards; one ended in a go-ahead field goal, the second ended in a missed kick as time expired on a 19-17 loss to the Tar Heels.

“Last two drives, he was very effective,” Harbaugh said. “He didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. He just executed the game plan and did his job.”

The Gophers didn’t officially attempt a throw more than 20 yards downfield in the season opener, but two Brosmer deep throws to Daniel Jackson ended in defensive pass interference penalties — a net positive. Another Brosmer dropback had Cristian Driver wide open downfield, but Brosmer was brought down for one of Gophers’ five sacks allowed in the game.

Brosmer was under pressure on 10 of his 29 total drop backs (34.5 percent) against the Tar Heels, according to Pro Football Focus. When he wasn’t being sacked in those situations, he went 2 for 4 for 20 yards, per PFF. When kept clean in the pocket, he was 11 for 17 for 124 yards.

Brosmer’s rushing attempts were a mixed bag.

First, the negatives. He attempted to scramble for a first down in the fourth quarter, but linebacker Amare Campbell punched the ball out with a heavily taped hand for a fumble lost. Brosmer also tried to outrun a 300-pound Tar Heels defensive lineman earlier in the game, but the QB was quickly brought down.

“That was my welcome to the Power 4 (moment), for sure,” Brosmer said. “It didn’t happen too much from where I originally played (at New Hampshire). That was a good phone call on the sideline with Coach Harbaugh, like, ‘Well, you won’t do that again, but you know, you can take that and grow in-game.’ Ultimately, that’s going to be a throwaway next time.”

Brosmer had success on the ground, scrambling for a first down to keep a drive alive and quarterback sneaks. On the latter, he tallied his first touchdown to put the Gophers up 14-7 late in the first half.

On that opening third-down conversion attempt, Brosmer identified the coverage (a cloud corner to the field side, indicating cover three) and worked his progression to the backside dig route that Geers had run, Harbaugh said. The tight end was open.

“It was a very good job by (Brosmer); he just missed the throw,” Harbaugh said.

But it wasn’t Brosmer’s only miss. After North Carolina went on a 17-play field goal drive to start the second half, Brosmer had time but again overthrew Driver on an out route for another three-and-out. That missed opportunity contributed to the U running only four plays total in the third quarter.

Brosmer went 2 for 5 for 40 yards on intermediate throws (10-20 yards) and 11 for 15 on short throws (0-9 yards). On his 21 attempts, he targeted receivers 13 times, followed by running backs (five) and tight ends (three).

Overall, Brosmer said he is learning about where the sweet spot is for him in the Gophers’ offense. His play in the opener was reminiscent of former U quarterback Tanner Morgan.

“In order for teams to win games, you have to play within the system,” Brosmer said Wednesday. “If you try to do too much and try to play out of your body, that’s when really negative plays happen.”

Brosmer got his feet underneath him in the season opener, avoided damaging plays through the air in his first major college football game and put his team in a position to win the game. Now he will work to make more explosive plays starting Saturday against Rhode Island.

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Jessie Hellmann | (TNS) CQ-Roll Call

WASHINGTON — Programs that feed older, homebound adults are instituting waiting lists amid budget crunches, rising costs of food, growing demand for their services and funding cuts from the government.

Combined with the end of COVID-19 era aid, local groups are finding that they can no longer serve the same number of people, resulting in difficult decisions about next steps.

“This is a huge challenge for our network,” said Josh Protas, chief advocacy and policy officer at Meals on Wheels America, a national organization that supports local organizations delivering meals to homebound individuals, mainly older adults.

Meals on Wheels is among the groups pushing for funding increases through the appropriations process for programs funded under the Older Americans Act, a decades-old law first signed by President Lyndon Johnson to support adults as they age in their communities.

One in three Meals on Wheels programs has a wait list, with an average wait time of three months.

“The vast majority of them recognize that there are more seniors in need in their communities that they’re not able to serve, in large part because of a lack of adequate federal funding,” Protas said.

Higher demand

The population is getting older. Over the next decade, people 65 and older will represent 22 percent of the population, compared to 17 percent in 2022.

They are at a unique risk for going hungry because of fixed incomes, social isolation, lack of access to transportation and health conditions that make it difficult to cook or shop for groceries.

Almost 7 million seniors were “food insecure” — or didn’t have enough to eat — in 2022, and more than 9 million could be by 2050, according to Feeding America.

Meals on Wheels or similar programs are almost ubiquitous. Many have been around for more than 50 years, providing a source of nutrition and social contact to people who can’t leave their homes and helping them age in place. Programs served 206 million home-delivered meals and 55 million congregate meals in fiscal 2021.

But the demand has outpaced the ability of programs to serve people in their communities.

“We have 12,000 people every day who are turning 60, and as a society, we haven’t really reckoned with the changes that are necessary to address those needs,” Protas said.

Current legislation

Congress has recognized the need for more funding for the programs. But budget pressures have made that difficult.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee — on a bipartisan basis — approved in July a reauthorization of the Older Americans Act, recommending to appropriators an increase of 20 percent each for the home-delivered and congregate meal programs.

Still, the Senate Labor-HHS funding bill, advanced by the Senate Appropriations Committee in August, would level-fund those programs in fiscal 2025. Meanwhile, the House appropriations bill would cut the nutrition programs by 1.6 percent.

The Older Americans Act funds several different programs intended to help older adults age in place, but its most well-known ones are related to food services: one for home-delivered meals, another for meals served in congregate settings, like senior centers, and the Nutrition Services Incentive Program, which allows programs to purchase fresh, local produce, dairy or proteins for meals.

While home-delivered meals and congregate settings received increases in fiscal 2024, the nutrition services incentive program received a cut, surprising advocates.

The program is intended to incentivize states to serve more meals because the amount of money it gets is based on how many meals it served the previous year.

“If you’re discouraging incentives, you’re actually lowering meal counts at the end of the day,” said Robert Blancato, president of the National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs.

Overall, funding to the nutrition programs was cut by 0.8 percent in fiscal 2024 and states received about $10 million less in appropriations from the federal government in fiscal 2024 than in fiscal 2023.

That cut, plus growing demand for services, cuts to state budgets, the end of COVID-19 aid and inflation has put pressure on local service providers and the people who count on them.

The 2021 COVID-19 rescue package alone nearly doubled the amount the government typically spends on home and congregate meals, allowing organizations to reach people they couldn’t before.

Local programs

Now that the money is gone, groups have to make difficult decisions about who to remove from their programs or dropping the number of meals people receive per day, or creating wait lists.

“During the pandemic, the demand definitely shot up, and so did government funding… but then that funding went away, and the demand didn’t,” said Adam Porter, director of Sound Generations Meals on Wheels based in Seattle.

The organization has had a wait list since February 2023. It currently has 1,423 people on it, more than the number receiving meals through the program.

Food costs have also increased by 25 percent from 2018 to 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“It continues to go up and funding isn’t, so we’re reducing the number of meals we can serve,” Porter said.

In Pennsylvania, the Monroe County Area Agency on Aging, which is responsible for doling out Older Americans Act funding to local partners, has had a freeze on new clients entering the program since July 2023.

Its primary partner — Monroe County Meals on Wheels — had to seek out a grant to avoid instituting a waitlist after the state passed flat funding for senior services programs.

The organization enrolled people on the waiting list into its private pay program, which is based on a sliding fee scale, to ensure people weren’t going without needed meals. It received a grant to cover the costs of the meals for people who can’t afford it.

“We’ve been dependent on community support and grant funding to try to fill that gap because the alternative is a waiting list of our own,” Alyssa Koeck, executive director of Monroe County Meals on Wheels in Pennsylvania.

“We’re working very, very hard to make sure that we do our best to prevent that from happening because we know, especially with the cost of living, that having nutritious, affordable meals is so critical to our clients.”

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