Middle Creek will retire Rashawn King's No. 3 jersey before its Sep. 28 home football game against Panther Creek. King, who graduated last year, missed his junior season while battling leukemia, only to return his senior year with the cancer in remission.

King, now a freshman at N.C. Central, was given much recognition for his comeback.

There was an outpouring of support and fundraisers. He got a standing ovation before his basketball team’s final holiday tournament game. He was a runner-up in the Inspireum Football Awards, earning a $2,500 scholarship.

King continued to inspire others.

He used his Make-A-Wish to give back, changing his original plan of meeting LeBron James at the NBA All-Star game to providing everybody at his school with a thank-you lunch for their support during his battle.

King ran for 173 yards in football and scored two touchdowns. He was second-team all-conference in basketball with 5.8 points and a team-high 4.8 rebounds per game.

Panther Creek’s first-year head football coach, Sean Crocker, was King’s coach for his four years at Middle Creek.

“That’s why we picked that game,” said Middle Creek athletics director Lewis Owens.