Afu Fiefia's presence and spirit is still felt by his family – despite passing away after a valiant battle with cancer. The Farmington teen died Feb. 24, the end of four-year-long fight to overcome soft-tissue sarcoma.

Afu leaves behind his parents and six siblings. But his father, David Fiefia, the head football coach at Farmington High School, says he’s not far away. 

In August 2021, Afu began feeling pain in his left calf. It wasn’t given much thought at the time other than perhaps the result of his being active in football, basketball, and track in high school. His dad said it got to the point where they had it examined. “It turned out to be cancer,” namely soft-tissue sarcoma.

About 900 children and adolescents are diagnosed with that form of cancer each year in the United States, according to information from Boston Children’s Hospital. The disease generally originates in the arms, legs, chest, and abdomen of young people, especially in the “tissues that connect, support, or surround” those organs and structures. The hospital says sarcomas make up less than 1 percent of all new cancer cases each year. 

Afu underwent chemotherapy in hopes of reining it in. It showed signs of working. “He had been in remission a couple times,” David said. The first time around, the cancer pulled back for three months. The second go-round it receded for a period of 21 months, heightening optimism that Afu would beat it. So much so that he was able to play his junior and senior years of football – and very productively, too – for the Phoenix. He capped off his prep career during the 2024 season. “He was really optimistic about life, definitely a fighter,” his father said. “That’s just the true competitive nature of who he was as an athlete and as a person, too.” 

During his senior year of high school, Afu looked forward to serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whether that was a proselyting mission somewhere or a service mission close by to accommodate his condition and treatment regimen. He was given approval to serve away from home, although he never got the chance to go. 

Fiefia said his son, the first boy and third oldest out of seven kids, was a handful as a young boy, but matured into a responsible, focused young man, especially as the cancer took hold.. “Regardless of where he was in treatment, he was always talking and planning for the future.” As it became more apparent, Afu eventually accepted his fate with strength and courage that God had His own plans for him. With the Fiefia family’s faith in Jesus Christ, they look forward to reuniting with Afu on the other side one day. 

The Fiefias are grateful for the support of family, friends, and the Farmington High School community. “It’s been amazing to be able to be a recipient of that,” David said. “He (Afu) definitely had an effect on people.”