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Overcast First charity game raises money for the needy
Alumni of East Rockaway High School organized a football game for a good cause on Thanksgiving Eve.
The game that took place at the East Rockaway High School turf field was the first of its kind. Varsity Head Coach Russ Pajer, one of the people who ran this event, plans on turning this year’s game into an annual tradition. The alumni wanted to do something for the community and figured that they could raise money for those in need.
To play this game, you had to pay a $10 fee. The East Rockaway Recreation also asked all of the players to donate a minimum of $25. In total, the game raised over $4,000. “The alumni said, ‘Let’s play a flag football game for Thanksgiving and let’s do it for charity’,” Pajer said.
With Pajer being a coach at the East Rockaway High School, he said he used his connections to make this event big. “Everyone who knew somebody sent out emails and we were able to play a football game,” Pajer said.
The money went to presents for kids, families who have a hard time paying bills, the East Rockaway Recreation Department, and two scholarships. “The donations went to need families in East Rockaway who we knew of or who anybody told us about,” Pajer said. “So all the money went back to the community.”
The scholarship fund that some of the money went towards was in memory of Julio Tayo. He was a football player that graduated from East Rockaway High School in 1987. “He was the school’s leading rusher and he held a touchdown record for about 12 years before it was broken,” Pajer said.
The teams at this game were split by years of graduation. “Anyone who graduated after 2009, played on one team and anyone who graduated before 2009, played on another, Pajer said. A total of 50 alumni played at the game with someone who graduated as far back as the class of 1978.
As the game ended 19-13, the younger team defeated the older alumni. “It was fun and competitive,” Pajer said. Regardless of the score, Pajer was just thrilled about the outcome of the event. “It was great seeing people and it was like a little reunion for everybody,” Pajer said.
Pajer was proud of the players at this event and at all fundraising events his football team is part of. “In East Rockaway, we all care for each other, love one another, and we all look out for each other,” Pajer said.
