Every successful sports team seems have its own heart or central strand.
For Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy football in 2025, that heart was Paul Muklewicz.
The long-time CVCA assistant coach became a focal point for the Royal after being diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer just before the season started last July.
Focusing on Muklewicz, CVCA went out and had the best season in program history.
Holding up four fingers before the final quarter — a common gesture in football — took on greater significance for the Royals, who wore helmets with “4MUK” stickers last year.
In 2025, the Royals had their first undefeated regular season, won the North Coast Conference in their first year in the league and claimed their first regional title to advance to the state final four.
Fittingly, when the OHSAA regional trophy was presented, Muklewicz was the first to raise it.
It is tragic he won’t get to raise another one with the Royals.
When I spoke with Muklewicz last September about his situation, I was struck by how unaffected he was by the diagnosis from a mental/spiritual perspective.
Here was a man in the prime of his life told he was given maybe 30 months to live. Yet he couldn’t stop smiling or expressing gratitude for his team and CVCA community rallying around him.
The man faced the worst form of adversity with grace, holding onto his faith. Little wonder why CVCA rallied around such an inspiration.
He even inspired me — an atheist — to pray for him in his hour of need.
With such emotions in play, it was impossible not to root for CVCA as the Royals made their way to to the state final four last fall.
There would be no fairy-tale ending for the Royals. A late missed field goal gave Toledo Central Catholic a win over CVCA in the state semifinals.
Even in defeat, however, the Royals still seemed to be thankful they had made such a run, in part because they put something above themselves.
Sadly, there would be no fairy-tale recovery for Muklewicz either. He died March 29 of cancer at the age of 44. He is survived by his wife, Suzy, and five children.
A CVCA state title wouldn’t have cured Muklewicz. Nor would it replace the hole in the CVCA community, who lost not only a coach, but a middle school teacher and friend.
That said, I’m sure many will take inspiration from the way Muklewicz conducted himself through one of the life’s toughest trials and remember how he inspired those young men.
Any coach worth their whistle will tell you what they coach on the field should pale in comparison to the impact they have on their players off it.
Although his time was cut short, I have no doubt Paul Muklewicz’s impact was great. If ever there was a “Mighty Royal,” it was him.
Michael Leonard can be reached at mleonard@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: CVCA’s Paul Muklewicz was inspiration under deep adversity | Leonard
Reporting by Michael Leonard, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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