Former Suncoast high school football player loses battle with cancer

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - Local teen, Beau Christensen passed away this weekend after a two-year battle against brain cancer.

Jared Clark is the head football coach at Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School. He shared his memories of Beau with ABC7′s James Hill, saying, “What I remember about Beau is a young man with a lot of confidence. He was a leader on our team, he was a captain on our team, I just remember it didn’t matter what happened. He always felt like he had a chance to be succeful about whatever it was.”

Meanwhile on the campus of Riverview High School the Rams Varsity Football Coach Joshua Smithers explained how Beau touched the lives of many family members, classmates and teammates.

“You could just tell in those pictures he was very prideful to be in there and to wear the maroon and white, and to be a part of the program and those are the kind of guys you want in a program. Those are the kind of guys you want to be around and coach and it’s a big loss for everybody,” Coach Smithers said.

Beau was a 2022 graduate of Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School. He continued his academic career at the University of North Georgia Oconee Campus with future plans to attend the University of Georgia.

A Funeral Mass will be held to honor Beau at Incarnation Catholic Church located at 2929 Bee Ridge Road Sarasota, Florida 34239 on Friday, Sept. 29 at 1 p.m.

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