ANDERSON, S.C. (AP) — The best hunter in the field had four legs.

Isabelle, a 4-year-old English pointer, proved her worth time and again, covering ground like a cheetah and running circles around a small hunting assemblage that included pro football Hall of Famer Larry Csonka and 16-year-old Cory Watt.

“If I could run like that I’d still be playing,” Csonka lamented while pausing to admire Isabelle’s boundless energy.

Csonka’s latest trip to the Upstate was devoted to again offering a helping hand to the Outdoor Dream Foundation, an Anderson-based nonprofit organization that provides hunting and fishing trips and other outdoor adventures for young people who are battling life-threatening illnesses.

Watt, one of more than 200 youngsters who have been treated to such once-in-a-lifetime outings since the organization’s founding five years ago, is a lifelong bird hunter who has gotten his fill in recent months. In September, Watt and his father, Jody, were treated to a three-day duck hunt in Alaska that was set up by Csonka.

But the teen was recently presented with his first opportunity to meet Csonka in person.

“I was familiar with him and I knew right away he was a really nice guy,” Watt said.

Watt is thankful to be doing any hunting at all. The Crescent High School junior began experiencing oppressively painful headaches last year and was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.

Watt underwent surgery in Greenville then battled his way through a near-daily schedule of 35 radiation treatments.

Today, the news is good. Watt’s treatments are but a memory and he appears to be cancer-free.

“I went for a one-year MRI checkup the other day, and everything showed clear,” Watt said. “That was really good to hear.”

Now Watt is looking forward to more bird hunting. He grew up gunning for doves and ducks, so the quail-hunting experience with Csonka was an eye-opening morning.

Watt hopes to hit the woods on a few more occasions this season, and perhaps hook up with Csonka again somewhere down the road.

“Having been through what I have, it really makes you appreciate times like this,” Watt said.

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