Antelope Valley’s Pierce Dies of Cancer

Linebacker Charles Pierce of Antelope Valley High died Saturday at Antelope Valley Hospital after a nine-month battle with cancer.

His death came two days after his 18th birthday.

Pierce, an All-Golden League linebacker as a junior, missed his senior season last fall after doctors found a tumor in his sinus cavity in July and he started chemotherapy at the UCLA Medical Center.

The treatments were successful and Pierce was in remission in October, but another tumor was discovered on his spine early this year. It was surgically removed on Feb. 8.

“After that surgery, the cancer spread very rapidly,” said Carletta Nelson, Pierce’s sister.

“He deteriorated very quickly. But he was a fighter to the very end. He stayed strong for everyone else. He remained strong and he never lost his faith.”

The Antelope Valley High booster club presented Pierce with a special award for courage at the team banquet.

The boosters will encase his jersey No. 32 in a glass frame and present it to his family.

The last game in which Pierce played was Antelope Valley’s 35-28 loss to Hart in the 1995 Southern Section Division II championship game.

“He was a good football player,” Antelope defensive coordinator Wayne Ekimoto said.

“It’s hard to take when a kid goes down like that,” Ekimoto added.

Pierce hoped to spend his birthday with his family at their Lancaster home, but his deteriorating condition forced him to return to the hospital the day before.

“Charles was a very warm and giving person,” Nelson said. “He was a caring and loving younger brother. He loved football and he came to know Christ when he was in that hospital. So we know his soul is with God.”