The night before Thanksgiving the area was hit with a snow and ice storm that threatened to cancel the annual Thanksgiving Day game between Cromwell and Coginchaug. It was the 2nd annual Homes for the Brave Bowl. Kickoff for the game was scheduled for 10am. When I arrived at the field at 7:45, I found the High School Athletic Director, Nick Barbieri standing in the end zone shoveling show. He had called me and asked if the Coginchaug Football Booster Club could help clear the field in time for today’s Thanksgiving Day Game. I posted the request to the Club’s Facebook page and grabbed a shovel. The District staff was already in the process of clearing the seats, sidewalks and parking lots. The initial request from the referee’s was to “just clear the lines”. Little by little more fans began to arrive and more shovels were added to the field. As the Cromwell bus arrived so did the remainder of the referees, the decision was that the ice that remained on the field was a hazard making the “field unplayable”. The request was to clear the field and the kick off would be delayed up to 30 minutes. By game time the stands were full for what was likely the largest crowd of the season. The request was made over the loud speaker for more help. Suddenly there were 100 people both Coginchaug and Cromwell fans on the field, including coaches from both sides shoveling snow. The players repeatedly ran over the snow/ice to break it up making it easier to shovel. Still not enough, said the referees, the piles of snow and now ice was too close to the side of the field representing a hazard to the players. An urgent plea was made to the Principal, Brian Falcone and the Superintendent Kathryn Veronesi to allow the use of equipment to clear the snow on the side lines. The request was approved! The referees allowed the crew another 30 minutes to clear the side lines. Game saved, kick off at 11:15.
The 2nd Annual Home for The Brave game was underway. The team did not let us down and rewarded us with 50-0 shut out win to complete a spectacular 9-2 season!
A heart felt THANKS for a small Thanksgiving Day Miracle.
