NEEDHAM — At St. Sebastian’s for Sunday’s A Shot For Life Bowl, the organization’s first football event, it was cold, and it was wet. But it was also fun.
Lots, and lots of fun.
That was the main takeaway for both event organizers and players who took part in the four-team 7-on-7 tournament. Sure, the weather was rainy, but the competition was a blast, and the event was a success.
All told, $47,000 was raised for the Massachusetts General Hospital’s Cancer Center.
“It’s super fun,” A Shot For Life CEO Mike Slonina said. “All of our players are building off of what our players did before them. If basketball wasn’t successful, we can’t do baseball. If baseball wasn’t successful, we can’t do soccer. If that’s not successful, we can’t do football. These guys, what they’re doing here today is going to live on for a very long time. Half these guys will be back. All underclassmen are welcome back. So it’s a roster. So a number of these kids will be here the next year, as well. They’re doing a really powerful and special thing, and we love them.”
Barrett Pratt, a Catholic Memorial alum who is now a quarterbacks student assistant at West Virginia, put that roster together, and it was a talented one. It included standouts from both the MIAA and NEPSAC.
“It’s really nice to see,” Pratt said. “It was a really long process, started almost a year ago. Started talking to guys last June. Started getting going in the summer. Then, over the past few months, got it all together. It’s really rewarding, nice to see. They’re all great kids, all doing it for a great cause. It’s been really nice to see, and great to see happen.”
The most heralded name was Ryan Puglisi, a quarterback from Avon Old Farms who hails from Paxton. All players either live in or go to school in Massachusetts. Puglisi is a University of Georgia commit.
“Despite the weather, it’s a great time,” Puglisi said. “I was talking to Barrett. My team, we were losing, but I told him it was bigger than football. It’s just great to be out here for s great cause, and just happy to represent A Shot For Life.”
The weather wiped out the quarterback challenge portion, so everything wrapped up with the 7-on-7 tournament. In that phase, Team Fight beat Team Hope, and the star of the day’s festivities was Matt Childs, a running back and linebacker from Milton Academy.
In the final, Childs caught a one-handed, 1-yard touchdown pass from Catholic Memorial’s JC Petrongolo. Later, Childs caught another from Petrongolo on a diving grab in the back of the end zone. Finally, on the last play of the afternoon, Childs chucked a deep ball that was caught for a touchdown.
It was a good one to end on.
“It’s fun playing football with all the boys right now,” Childs said. “We all play against each other, but we’re boys out here. That’s all it’s about.”