Hero Bowl athletes treated by Outback Steakhouse

Players, their parents and coaches in the Delaware County Hero Bowl will receive a dinner compliments of Outback Steakhouse, located in Olde Sproul Shopping Center, Baltimore Pike and Sproul Road, Springfield, after the practice session June 2 at Widener University.

The all-star football game will showcase the best seniors from the Central League, Del-Val League, Episcopal Academy, Haverford School and Cardinal O’Hara, Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Carroll high schools, said County Councilman Thomas J. McGarrigle. It will be played Thursday, June 3 at Widener University, Chester. Kickoff is 7:30 PM.

Proceeds from the Hero Bowl, which will also feature a one-mile boys relay race at halftime, will benefit the Hero Scholarship Fund of Delaware County, said County Detective Robert T. Lythgoe, Chairman of the Hero Bowl and President of the Hero Fund board of directors.

He said the dinner to be sponsored by Outback Steakhouse for the 11th consecutive year replaced a gathering held in previous years several weeks prior to the beginning of the practice sessions, which began this year on May 17 at Widener.

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.

The all-star football game will feature the East Team with players from the Del-Val League as well as Bonner, Carroll and O’Hara against the West Team which draws its members from the Central League Episcopal and Haverford schools. Some 90 players, all seniors, have been picked for the teams by the Delaware County High School Football Coaches Association.

Head coaches for the game are Dennis Decker, head coach at Ridley High School, who will guide the West team, and Anthony G. Naab, associate head coach at Cardinal O’Hara High School, for the East team.

McGarrigle said the game is an annual highlight of the high school sports calendar. "It provides a venue for the best players in the high schools in Delaware County to demonstrate their skills," he said. "The Hero Bowl also provides an opportunity to contribute to a most worthy cause, the Hero Scholarship Fund." He encouraged residents to attend the game, which will be played under the lights, along with their children.

Tickets are available at all TD Bank branches in Delaware County for $5 each. Call 888-751-9000 for the nearest TD Bank location. Tickets will be sold at the gate on game night, when pre-game activities will begin at 7 PM. TD Bank is the major co-sponsor of the Hero Bowl with County Council and the Delaware County High School Football Coaches Association.