Youth Football Kicks Off with Fundraiser [Photos]

East Haven Youth Football (EYHF) kicked off the first weekend of the season with a fundraiser on Saturday and games on Sunday.

The first annual Fundraiser/Walkathon for EHYF was held on Saturday September 3^rd at Crisafi Field behind and went off with a real bang. Although the fundraiser was delayed a week by Hurricane Irene,  all of the teams from flag football, junior Tackle and grades three through eight turned out to walk the track at school with cash and checks on hand to promote the fundraiser.

The walkathon was inspired by Liz Franco-Spano, who is the treasurer of this year’s new EHYF Board. It was hosted by Lance Horton, the 2011 President. Bart Luzzi is the coach of The 6^th Grade Yellow Jacket Team, and was the DJ for the event.

Each child from every team was required to raise donations for the walk a thon, to fund EHYF’s account for the year. First Prize for the most money raised was an iPad valued $500. Second Prize was a chance to win an XBox 360 or PlayStation 3 system. Last but not least for the third place winner was shot at a new bike with a helmet.

Parents from the 7^th grade team were on hand to man the grills, serving up burgers and hot dogs, sold to the kids and their families for a small fee along with soda, Gatorade and water. Players from all of the teams were also treated to snow cones and soft drinks.

In addition to the raffles and other festivities, every team player was invited to compete in Pass, Punt and Kick Events to inspire a ‘fun for all’ event and to raise money for EHYF.

A great time was had by all. Funds will help pay for new uniforms, conditioning of equipment and also used for the annual football banquet.

The first day of games was Sunday, September 4, and those Yellow Jackets really made East Haven proud for the season’s start. Four of the six teams scored touch downs and wins to make for a perfect start to the nine week season.

The 8th Grade team, headed up by Nick Gargano played a very challenging game against Wallingford for a win of 30 to 18, while Gianni Ragiani’s 7^th grade team (who were last year’s second place National AYF Champs) crushed Southington on our home turf by a triumphant score of 39 to 7.

Away at Southington, Bart Luzzi’s 6^th Grade team challenged quite a win, taking the opposition  38 to 20, with a majority of the TD’s scored by newcomer, QB & RB; Michael Torniero. East Haven’s 4^th Grade Yellow Jackets pummeled North Branford in a victorious win of 21 over 7.

On the other side of the coin, the 5^th Grade team lost to North Branford by only one touchdown resulting in a 7-0 final score. Junior Tackle is a new division this year, and sadly they were strongly overcome by Norwalk in a tough loss of 36 to 6.