By John Gardner, Cape Cod Times

The Massachusetts Maritime Academy football team plays its final game of the season this afternoon and nobody will appreciate pulling on the Buccaneer uniform and pads more than Cody Stahmer.

The lanky 6-foot-3, 180-pound junior wide receiver from Wareham caught two touchdown passes in last week’s 48-27 win over Plymouth State. However, Stahmer’s trips to the end zone - heck, just to the football field - were not easy after being diagnosed with testicular cancer his freshman year at the academy.

“Nothing came up in my physical, but I felt a lump – actually a few bumps my freshman year and that’s when I was diagnosed,” said Stahmer. “It was a big shock as I didn’t notice symptoms before that.”

After a visit to his doctor during the season, he was sent to a specialist and then to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He was diagnosed with seminoma, a form of testicular cancer most commonly found in young men under age of 35.

Stahmer would spend entire days in Boston receiving chemo treatments, before commuting back to Wareham with family members. It was certainly no day at the beach.

“I battled nausea and acid reflux, which was pretty tough,” said Stahmer. “The chemo made me feel tired and weak. But I didn’t miss any classes or practices because treatments happened during wintertime.”

After a grueling regimen that lasted most of the winter and early spring, he went for a checkup in May 2014 and his doctors announced him cancer-free.

“I lost about 20 pounds and looked pretty thin and tired,” said Stahmer. “But then I started to lift weights and eat everything in sight, once I got my appetite back, and I started to gain my weight back.”

By the start of training camp at the end of the summer of 2014, Stahmer was back to his playing weight of 180 pounds and starting to feel himself again. He caught his first collegiate pass against Worcester State, while backing up a strong senior receiving class, including former Wareham teammate E.J. Bennett.

Coming into this season, Stahmer had high hopes and his hard work has paid off. He’s caught 15 passes for 267 yards and five touchdowns (tied for team lead). He had two scoring receptions in a season-opening Chowder Bowl win over SUNY-Maritime, one vs. MASCAC champion Framingham State, and then last week’s pair in the win over Plymouth State.

“Our offense looks to push the ball and get other teams back on their heels,” said Stahmer, who will be part of MMA’s high-powered attack in Saturday’s Cranberry Bowl showdown with Bridgewater State. The Bucs’ offense is averaging 34 points and 506 yards and 72 plays per game.“We like to get in as many plays as possible,” said Stahmer.

And nobody appreciates them more.