Kyle Bigham wakes up every day and thinks about all the things that carried him to this point.

The Lake Stevens assistant football coach thinks about collapsing during the national anthem before last year's game against Mariner. He thinks about the wake-up call it provided. But more importantly, he thinks about all the people who rallied around him, kept him alive and prevented him from being buried under a mountain of medical bills.

But when the Vikings play host to the Marauders on Friday at 7 p.m., he would like to treat it like any other game.

"To me, it's in the past and I'm moving on, but at the same time it is the one-year anniversary and it signifies a lot of things to me," said Bigham, who everyone calls Coach Bigs.

Doctors never determined exactly what caused Bigham's heart to stop. At the time he was surviving on about four hours of sleep a day and powering through energy drinks to stay alert. He thinks it was a combination of exhaustion, excitement and dehydration. The incident forced the coach to make some changes in his life. One year after he collapsed he has a clean bill of health, the defibrillator that was surgically implanted -- just in case -- has yet to fire.

"I'm moving right along, keeping busy, making sure I take care of myself and get my proper rest, eat properly, work out properly," Bigham said. "I just try to live life, not with blinders on, but experience life and not try to go 100 miles an hour all the time. I've learned it's OK for me to say, 'I can't do that.'"

In addition to helping the Vikings, the 32-year-old is now the head coach of the ninth-grade program at Cavelero Mid High School and he is working on a master's degree in teaching. He tries not to take things for granted.

"You're here for a reason," Bigham said. "Don't screw it up."

Note: General admission tickets for the Skyline-Oaks Christian game on Sept. 18 are gone. There are still tickets for Skyline High School students (9-12). Students can buy a $5 ticket Sept. 14-17 at the bookkeeper's office by showing their ASB card. Only one student ticket can be purchased per ASB card and will only be given to the card holder. Student tickets will also be for sale at PCFC for Skyline students only Sept. 14-17, same rules apply that are listed above.

The game is scheduled to be televised on ESPNU at 7 p.m. and will also be broadcast on 950 KJR AM.