In Mead, a junior varsity football game at 4 p.m. on a Monday fills the stands. Parents, grandparents and siblings stomp on the bleachers, making their presence known. It's an early November afternoon and the first cold game of the season. The team is losing, but everyone starts to smile as they watch #31, Beckett Reiff, take the field. Reiff looks a little different than the rest of the players. Underneath the padding, his frame is small, but the kid has spunk. He sets up on the line as a defensive player. The ball snaps and he charges through the chaos, his eyes on the target. There's no way he can't hear the crowd roaring. Hard to believe he was hours away from death 11 months ago. Read more: https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/mead-teen-back-on-the-football-field-after-hospitalization-flu-complications/73-89158f1f-fd2d-418b-9163-438b8fa97410 ----- More local videos here: https://youtube.com/@9news Subscribe to NEXT: https://youtube.com/@Nexton9NEWS Stay connected: 9NEWS Website: https://www.9news.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ilike9news Twitter: https://twitter.com/9NEWS Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/9newsdenver/ Download the 9NEWS App: https://www.9news.com/appredirect/ Sign up for the 9NEWSLETTER: https://www.9news.com/email 9NEWS (KUSA) is located in Denver, Colorado.