Leyden High School District 212 hosted its annual faculty flag football game last week.
“This is a fundraiser for a family in need at Leyden. Every year, we try to find someone in need,” said Tim Murphy, the business education teacher and assistant athletic director at the district. He added that this year’s recipient wanted to remain anonymous. “But it’s a charity event, and every year we raise between $800 and $2,000.”
Ahead of the game, faculty from East Leyden wore yellow shirts and faculty from West Leyden wore blue shirts while they warmed up with drills on the football field at West Leyden High School.
Murphy joked that he used to try to have the annual faculty football game end in a tie, but the faculty teams didn’t like that.
“They get really competitive,” said Murphy. “It’s quite interesting, and hopefully no one gets hurt.”
When the game kicked off around 6 p.m. students were in the bleachers cheering on their teachers and watching the game from field’s sidelines.
“It’s a really great experience for me,” said Adrian Bautista, a freshman at West Leyden. “Being here helps me get to know more about the teachers from both schools and a couple of the students from East Leyden.”
Early in game, West Leyden’s team was able to score two touchdowns nearly back to back to put them in the lead. As the game progressed, West Leyden’s Stephanie Kuzmanic, who teaches a physical education and health, was able to account for 21 points. The final score for the charity event was 44-21 in West Leyden’s favor.
After the football game, Michael Motyka and Amber McGee were named East Leyden’s king and queen, while Teo Vargas and Noelle Lowther were named the king and queen of West Leyden.
Alex V. Hernandez is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.