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Coach leads CMU to bowl after fighting cancer

DETROIT – John Bonamego’s first season as Central Michigan’s coach was quite a success.

Especially considering what he had to deal with off the field.

Bonamego announced in June that he had cancer in his left tonsil, but he was able to keep coaching his team, and the Chippewas tied for first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division. They’ll play in the Quick Lane Bowl against Minnesota on Monday in Detroit.

It will be the third bowl in four seasons for Central Michigan, and a nice reward for a team and coach that faced some adversity.

“I’m very, very fortunate, No. 1, that we caught this really early in the process, and two, that this was a very highly treatable form of cancer,” Bonamego said. “Then thirdly, it has a very low incidence of returning.”

The Chippewas needed a new coach after Dan Enos left in January to become offensive coordinator at Arkansas. CMU’s search for a replacement lasted past signing day, and Bonamego, who played at the school during the mid-1980s, was introduced Feb. 9. He took the job in Mount Pleasant after spending the previous two seasons as special teams coordinator for the Detroit Lions.

In June, Bonamego announced that he had cancer in a letter released by the school. Just over two months later, he completed his final scheduled radiation treatment at University of Michigan Cancer Center.

“The bulk of my treatment took place during the down time when we’re not allowed to have contact with the players. The entire month of July, I was going back and forth to Ann Arbor five days a week, but there wasn’t any practices,” he said.

The Chippewas showed promise early in the season when they had a second-half lead against Oklahoma State and took Syracuse to overtime. They lost both, but opened MAC? play with a win over defending champion Northern Illinois.

Though Central finished 7-5 and didn’t get to play in the league title game in Detroit, they’re be in a bowl there. They face a Minnesota team that also had its season impacted by health issues for its coach. Jerry Kill retired in the middle of the season because of continued difficulty managing his epilepsy and his job. Tracy Claeys took over and has signed a three-year contract through 2018.

Now Bonamego and his team will try to wrap up this difficult-but-rewarding season.

“Our team has gone through a tremendous amount of adversity this year, as has Minnesota,” Bonamego said. “We’re looking forward to a great game.”

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