COUNCIL BLUFFS — Susan Swehla raised her children properly. That's one of the reasons her youngest of six, Elijah, knew what he must do.

Susan was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011, when Elijah was a freshman at Lincoln High School in Des Moines. After treatments, a year later she was declared cancer free. But in July of 2016, nearing the five-year mark of clean checkups, it returned and the prognosis was not good.

Elijah had finished a successful freshman year as a starting offensive lineman at Iowa Western and was preparing for his second season when the news came. Suddenly, football slid far down his list of priorities.

"I was like, 'I can't go play football right now,'" he said. "I just wanted to be home with her."

Elijah spent the 2016 fall semester caring for his mother. He returned to school in January and started this season as the team's starting right guard. His mother's health continued to decline, and he hurried home from Fort Dodge after the Reivers' Oct. 28 game at Iowa Central. Susan died the next day at the age of 56, with her husband Mark and all six children by her side.

Elijah sat out the following week but then returned to action. He has inspired his teammates with his maturity, attitude and devotion to his mother. He will take the field one last time for No. 3 Iowa Western (10-1) on Sunday at 3 p.m. when it plays No. 5 Northwest Mississippi (8-2) in the featured game of the Graphic Edge Bowl at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.

It's been a trying season for Elijah, a 6-foot-3, 310-pound lineman who transferred from Lincoln to West Des Moines Dowling after his sophomore year of football. He has started at right guard most of this season. Iowa Western coach Scott Strohmeier said Elijah's strength is a testament to his upbringing.

"You never would have guessed what he was going through," Strohmeier said. "It never affected his play or his attitude. I'm proud of him and how he's handled the whole situation, not only this year, but the year before that."

Susan Swehla was a woman of strong Catholic faith. She did something church-related just about every day, Elijah said. She also was a child care provider from her home for more than 20 years before turning her attention to her nine grandchildren.

"She made sure I was raised right," he said.

When the cancer returned and he made the decision to return home, there were many days when his father was working and he and his mother were the only ones home. He rose early and made her breakfast — toast with peanut butter was her usual choice.

Sometimes they would go see a movie. Their favorite activity involved something they both shared an affinity for.

"My mom loved going out to eat," he said with a smile. "I'd always take her somewhere to eat for lunch."

They shared meaningful conversations at those lunches, refusing to dance around the difficult topics.

"I could talk to my mom about everything," Elijah said. "When I decided to play football again, she always just said, 'If in these next couple months or this next year I'm gone, you can't stop your life. You can't quit school again. You can't come home and just be sad.' She was like, 'You've just got to keep going to school, keep playing football and do what you want to do.'

"I'm glad I got to spend a lot of time with her in the last year."