Former Quakers kicker Kendall Hochman back on field after leukemia

For former Penn placekicker Kendall Hochman, revenge is a dish best served cold.

Really, really cold.

The 32-year old Hochman is over 15 years removed from his blocked field goal attempt that would've beaten high school rival Phillipsburg (Pa.), but he is still looking for closure.

And he will get just that chance Sunday, when he plays for his alma mater Easton High in the Gatorade Easton-Phillipsburg Replay Game, which will be held at Lafayette's Fisher Stadium in Easton, Pa.

"My teammates and I [are] . looking for a resolution to this unresolved issue from 15 or 16 years ago," Hochman said. "Winning the game is important."

But the 1999 Wharton grad knows that in a game like this - which will pit players from each side of the fateful 1993 Thanksgiving Day contest against their old rival squads and feature NFL quarterbacks Eli and Peyton Manning as honorary captains - there are more important things than winning.

Like seeing old friends and teammates, for one. Living in Stamford, Conn., Hochman knows that this game will be great a chance to see his high school friends and revisit old memories.

"Even if the game was cancelled, even if we didn't have to play the game," Hochman said, "it would still be a very amazing experience for everybody who's been involved."

But more amazing than Hochman's reunion is his ability to even step on the field and compete.

He was diagnosed with acute leukemia in 2004, and had to undergo two-and-a-half years of chemotherapy while taking indefinite leave from his job in New York City's financial markets.

As Hochman put it, his new occupation was simply to get better and fight the disease.

And not surprisingly, it was Penn that prepared him so well for that job. Just not in the way you might think.

"One of the first phone calls that I got when I was first in the hospital and diagnosed was from [Penn football coach] Al Bagnoli," Hochman recounted. "He said that . the fact that I went through everything that he puts the team through was preparation for this battle."

It certainly looks like Bagnoli's methods provided good preparation.

Hochman, who played on Bagnoli's 1998 Ivy League championship team, beat the life-threatening cancer to make it all the way back to the gridiron.

Wherever he got his help from along the way, Hochman has certainly done an extraordinary job recovering from a near-death state to being able to kick again.

The feat was so surprising, in fact, that Hochman himself expected it least of all. He was convinced that he would not be able to survive the disease, let alone ever kick a football in a competitive game again.

And even very recently, after a good deal of progress had been made, getting on the field seemed beyond Hochman.

"Given the opportunity, I wasn't sure that I would be able to [play]," he said. "The fact that I not only have the opportunity but hopefully will be physically able to [play], is extremely special."

Now, just three days away from his big homecoming to Easton, Hochman is ready to show off just how resilient he has remained in the face of his affliction.

"The game sort of gives me an extra motivation," he said. "It makes [getting better] more fun."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.