By: Mark Wasik
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KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State will hold its annual Griffin's Game on Thursday, Sept. 11, when the Owls welcome Michigan State from the Big Ten to VyStar Arena.
Griffin's Game, now in its 10th year, is named in honor of head coach Keith Schunzel and his wife Briana's son, Griffin, who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. The KSU volleyball team each season selects a family to honor and support in order to help with their expenses in their fight against childhood cancer, and over the past nine years have raised over $120,000 total for the previous families.
This year, Griffin's Game will honor Jersey Washington, an 11-year old girl from Powder Springs, Ga.
Jersey was diagnosed at three years old with an aggressive and rare disease called Rose Dorfman's disease, which has now developed into Histiocytic Sarcoma. One day Jersey began having trouble walking, and after multiple misdiagnoses, her mom took her to CHOA Scottish Rite where the scan showed a large mass pressing on her spine. She had emergency surgery to remove the mass and spent the next several years in and out of the hospital to treat the reoccurring mass in her central nervous system.
In November 2024 Jersey ended her chemo treatment that she had been on for a year and a half. In January 2025 she relapsed and has been in and out of the hospital. The cancer is aggressive, and doctors are trying to figure out the best course of treatment for her.
Jersey was unable to start the 6th grade with her peers this school year, as she fiercely battles this aggressive disease. She spends most of her weekdays in physical therapy at Scottish Rite, Monday through Friday 9am-12pm to improve her strength and ability to walk, with oncology appointments every other week.
Her mom, who brings her to and from appointments, and her five siblings, who are all helping to care for one another and Jersey's seven year old sibling, need all of our support as they navigate this tough journey together.
Jersey loves to paint, and hopes to one day be able to enjoy dancing as much as she used to. Let's rally together to lift Jersey and her family up.
Help us support Jersey and her family by marking your calendars for this year's Griffin's Game. Tickets for the contest are $10, with all the proceeds going towards Jersey's family, and can be purchased
HERE. T-Shirts for Griffin's Game will be sold at the game for $15, and can also be bought online
HERE. Fans also have the opportunity to support Griffin's Game
HERE.
