Coaches named for annual Hero Bowl

The 2010 Delaware County Hero Bowl will feature two first-time head coaches in the game which will be played June 3 at Widener University, Chester.
Ridley High School Head Coach Dennis Decker will lead the West squad in his first season as head coach at his alma mater, which he represented as the starting West quarterback in the 1991 game. He will be opposed on the other sideline by East head coach Anthony G. Naab, Associate Head Coach at Cardinal O’Hara High School.
The 2010 game will be played once again to benefit the Hero Scholarship Fund of Delaware County.
County Councilman Thomas J. McGarrigle commended the two coaches. “It is a tribute to them and to the cause for which the game is played that they are carrying on the tradition of service to community by dedicating their time and energy to assure the continued success of the Hero Bowl and the Hero Scholarship Fund it supports,” said McGarrigle.
“Their commitment includes not only the night of the game but the three weeks of evening practices for the players which they along with the many assistant coaches conduct to prepare the players. Such a contribution provides an example of exemplary citizenship for the young athletes to emulate.”
Hero Bowl Chairman Robert T. Lythgoe, a County Detective and former Tinicum Township Police Chief, said the players began three weeks of practices on May 17 at Widener University, Chester, to prepare for the game, a showcase of the best senior football players from the Central League, the Del-Val League, Episcopal Academy, Haverford School and Archbishop Carroll, Cardinal O’Hara and Monsignor Bonner high schools.
Some 90 players were picked for the teams by the Delaware County High School Football Coaches Association, which cosponsors the Hero Bowl with County Council as well as TD Bank.
The East Team features players from the Del-Val League, Bonner, Carroll and O’Hara against the West Team which draws its members from the Central League, Episcopal and Haverford School.
McGarrigle urged support for the game, which he described as an annual highlight of the high school sports calendar.
The Hero Scholarship Fund was established in 1977 by County Council at the urging of two members of Upper Darby Township Council to provide scholarship aid for the children of police, fire fighters and emergency medical personnel who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
Tickets are available at all TD Bank branches in Delaware County for $5 each. Call 888-751-9000 for the nearest TD location. Tickets will be sold at the gate on game night, when pre-game activities will begin at 7 p.m.