Bullets tackle Crusaders and DMS in Charity Event
Sophmore Kyle Whigley proved last Saturday that he is one of the fastest players in the Centennial Conference in the second quarter. Starting on Gettysburg’s 25 yard line, Whigley broke through the opposition and made his way to a sixty-three yard touchdown. Photo Courtesy of David Sinclair
By Shannon Keeler, Staff Writer
Preceding every game, captains Hugo Nolasco, Cody DiAmore and Zach Miller walk out to the center of the field, side-by-side and hand-in-hand. On Saturday, however, a youthful pair of smiling, adorable individuals dressed in Bullet’s jerseys accompanied the trio on their walk to the coin toss.
The captains, as well as the team, knew that every touchdown, turnover, sack and field goal that they obtained meant something far more than mere numbers on a screen. The implementation of each and every one of those individual actions on the field meant another dollar to fund these twins, Dayton and Blake Biesecker, and their battle against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
Although the twins appear nothing less than typical football fanatic, happy and active children, their recent diagnosis is very progressive and the normalcy they’re experiencing will be short-lived.
The students behind this campaign are striving to aid Dayton and Blake in having the most comfortable and happy life possible under the circumstances.
House leader of the Cure Duchenne Theme House Jim Arnold explains the premise of their event. “The fundraiser came about because last weekend was the national game for all teams dedicated to muscular dystrophy awareness,” Arnold says. “It’s called the ‘Coach to Cure’ game. It ranges from D3 teams to the NFL. We realized this would be a huge opportunity to fundraise and the timing was perfect.”
Sophomore David Engel, another member of the house, eludes to the insight him and his friends have developed leading them to contribute to this cause.
“As an individual who has been fortunate enough to not have any physical disabilities, it’s hard for me to see others who have to face such hardships as Dayton and Blake,” Engel said. “As a whole we want to do everything possible to help give them the best life possible.”
Junior captain and starting quarterback Zach Miller tells of his experience of the two separate, yet intertwining events. Not only did he perform on the field to the tune of a 75% completion rate, 298 yards, and three touchdowns, but they also played a huge part in supporting two boys in their fight against Muscular Dystrophy.
“When we held their hands and walked to the middle of the field, you could tell it was pretty special for them as well as us too,” Miller said. “The combination of that along with Susquehanna being our rivals and wanting to beat them, definitely motivated us to score touchdowns get sacks and play well.”
And play well they did. Each individual action strung together not only an accumulation of points on the board, but also an accumulation of Pledge-A-Thon donations.
Despite the result, the first half was a tight, nip and tuck affair. The Susquehanna Crusaders received the ball to begin the game, but the Bullets limited them to two sets of downs and got the ball back with twelve minutes left in the first. Zach Miller connected to Senior Tommy Lenoir for 46 yards to give Gettysburg a seven-to-nothing lead.
Susquehanna answered back on the next drive which was highlighted by a 35 yard pass from Sophomore Quarterback Cam Olson to Sophomore Colin Buckley to tie the game up. The game continued to go back and forth, with Gettysburg’s Eddie Hutchins scoring the next touchdown to put the Bullets up by seven, followed by another Crusader touchdown one drive later.
The Bullets wasted no time taking the lead again.
Twenty three seconds into the drive, Sophomore Kyle Wigley ran for a remarkable 63 yard touchdown to give Gettysburg a lead they would never relinquish. Gettysburg led by as much as thirty-five to twenty eight as a result of two touchdowns by star Senior Aden Twer who extended his Gettysburg record for most career touchdowns.
The Crusaders made it a close game and cut the lead to seven with eight minutes left in the game. A remarkably unique play was made by wide receiver Freddy Carusso in which, after being handed the ball, he ran a small route, and then threw a 21 yard touchdown to Pacelli to seal the deal. Gettysburg won 42-28.
A total of $1500 was raised for DMS, but the effort is still in full force. Part of the donations will be given to the boys into funds used to support the facilities necessary to assist them in their fight. The other portion will be donated to the Coach to Cure Foundation.
Within the past few days, the unaware observer may have frol icked upon the increasing prevalence of blue and orange rubber bands suddenly appearing around campus. Upon closer observation, the interring answer lies lightly engraved upon the blue line: “Tackle Duchenne.”
If you wish to join the quest of tackling Duchenne MD, keep an eye out throughout the semester of shirts ($10) and bands ($2) being sold at the cub table or contact duchennehouse@gettysburg. edu.
