FLANAGAN - Flanagan-Cornell-Woodland ended football practice earlier this week with the 100-yard bear crawl, and yes, it is a bear. That is especially true for a 5-foot-10, 270-pound lineman.

Dillon Soule crawled a few yards, stopped to catch his breath and crawled a few more. Slowly, he made his way down the field, reaching the 20-yard line when an assistant coach said, "Soul Man, jog it in."

Soule jogged to the goal line, joining his teammates around head coach Ted O'Boyle. Soule arrived a bit later than most, but he was there.

Call it a victory, regardless what happens today in the Falcons' Class 2A second-round playoff game against Clifton Central.

Soule spent six months of 2008 battling leukemia. He was in Memphis, Tenn., from mid-January to mid-July, receiving chemotherapy treatments at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.

He lost his hair, dropped 40 pounds at one point and saw the strength he had built up in the weight room gradually erode.

Still, the Woodland High School senior is back on the field, playing right guard on field goals and extra points and serving as a backup offensive lineman.

"It's great to be part of it," Soule said. "I kept thinking to myself (in Memphis), 'Wow, am I going to play football after all I've been through?' Somehow, someway, I kept positive."

Soule endured five high-dosage chemotherapy treatments. He said he "reacted well" to the chemo, yet had fevers, developed an infection in a lymph node near his jaw and had to have his gallbladder removed.

In early July, two of Soule's teammates/classmates, Adam Johnson and Kirk Beutke, visited him in Memphis.

They found him to be pale and, in Beutke's words, "looking miserable."

Yet, by July 18, the son of Mike and Lisa Soule was back at home in Manville. A week later, he attended an FCW summer football camp, watching mostly but participating on a limited basis.

When practice began in August, Soule took part in more drills and "earned my spot on the team," he said. Shortly thereafter, he was cleared for full contact, and has been striving daily to motivate his teammates and regain the strength he lost.

"It's an incredible story," said Beutke, a tailback, safety and co-captain. "We saw him in the state that he was in. The fact he's even here speaks wonders for his character."

Johnson called it "amazing," and said Soule is an inspiration for the 7-3 Falcons.

"He wanted to get back on the field as soon as he could," said Johnson, the starting quarterback and also a co-captain. "He loves football. The first couple of weeks when he couldn't be out there, he was always telling us, 'I'm going to work hard and get in there as soon as I can.' "

Soule became ill in early January with flu-like symptoms, but his fever shot up to 104.7 and he got progressively worse. He was admitted to St. Mary's Hospital in Streator and tested positive for mononucleosis. Blood tests and further examination at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria revealed he also had leukemia.

"It really floored me," Soule said. "I kept thinking, 'What's going to happen next? How am I going to react to it? Am I going to do well?'

"It was a long road. I'm just glad I'm back. I'm glad I beat it all."

Leukemia was only part of Soule's journey back to football. Prior to becoming ill, he had undergone surgery and begun rehab for a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He completed physical therapy for the knee while in Memphis.

Throughout his ordeal, Soule said his teammates "have been real supportive," adding that Flanagan-Cornell and Woodland schools each held benefits to raise money for his medical expenses. The town of Streator did as well.

Soule goes to Peoria monthly for tests and to Memphis every four months to make sure he is cancer-free. Otherwise, life is back to normal, though O'Boyle said Soule has a special place on the team.

"He's dealt with a lot of things obviously," O'Boyle said. "The kids see him come back and fight through it and come out to practice every day and still give everything he's got … it's an inspiration.

"We're very proud of him."