MARYSVILLE — The Tomahawks might be a state-caliber football team, but how well can they belly flop?

Their counterparts on the girls swim team challenged them to find out as they faced off in five challenges, Nov. 3, to raise money for a former Tomahawk football player and swimming supporter who was recently diagnosed with cancer.

An all-conference defensive end as a senior on the Marysville-Pilchuck football team, David Kratovil was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease on his 21st birthday.

“It wasn’t one of the best teams, but it had a great defense,” he said.

Kratovil watched on as high schoolers vied in contests as varied as synchronized swimming, inner-tube racing, a freestyle relay and the belly flop.

After high school, Kratovil got work doing home repairs and remodeling, starting his own business called Curb Appeal. Unluckily though, Kratovil was uninsured when he was diagnosed. His family is helping raise money for the bills, which are around $243,000 at Swedish Medical Center.

The alum is going through chemotherapy now, which kept him out of the pool at the fundraiser.

These days, “I just hang out with friends and try to work out a little bit,” he said.

The athletes raised over $850, plus unspecified amounts of food and gift certificates toward Kratovil’s medical bills and daily expenses.

The silver lining in Kratovil’s treatment is that he has just two and a half months left of chemotherapy.

“Everything’s looking pretty well,” he said.