Shots for Life founder and founder stands on the sideline with New England Patriots mascot Pat Patriot during a charity flag football game at St. Sebastian's School in Needham on Sunday. CEO Mike Slonina (left). (Photo by Mark Stockwell/Boston Herald)
NEEDHAM — In his second year at A Shot For Life Football, Mike Slonina was looking to grow his philanthropic efforts.
And what the CEO and founder got was growth.
There were more players, more teams, more activities, and most importantly, more money raised for cancer research through Massachusetts General Hospital.
All told, A Shot For Life Football raised about $82,000 this year. A year ago, ASFL Football's first challenge raised $45,000.
No matter how you look at it, it was a great success. Slonina currently oversees Shots for Life in football, basketball, baseball, softball, lacrosse, soccer and hockey.
“It's very exciting,” Slonina said. “I walked away from this last year saying football was going to be a monster. It's not going to happen overnight. Today is a really great step, but it's going to grow beyond that for Massachusetts. It's going to grow beyond just a talent-based event. … We're building this whole division for A Shot For Life, and today is a really important day in that process.”
Barrett Pratt, who played quarterback at Catholic Memorial and now attends West Virginia University, helped bring in 76 players to make up the five 7-on-7 teams. NEPSAC and he MIAA's best talent were on display.
“It was awesome,” Pratt said. “I think the growth from Year 1 to Year 2 has been amazing. I congratulate all the kids on the roster for raising money and reaching the $1,000 goal. Also, Shots for Life The staff here are very helpful in getting the kids involved in interviews etc. Overall it was a great experience and they have grown a lot since their first year.”
In the championship, Team Cure defeated Team Fight 21-14. Quarterbacks Peter Burke of Tabor and Noah McKenzie of Walpole had strong days. Pingree's Chris Colby caught a ton of passes from both players, and Milton Academy's Matt Childs was involved in many big plays.
At one point, Childs intercepted a pass and ran to Pat Patriot, who had been waiting for part of the day. When Childs handed the ball to the mascot, the mascot spiked the ball, sending Childs and two teammates crashing to the ground.
It was typical of the competitive yet playful tone the players had throughout.
“That's great,” Childs said of why. “If we can use football as a way to leverage cancer research, there's nothing better than that. Both of my grandparents died of cancer, and that has special meaning to me. Here I love getting out and doing things.”
Quarterback Michael Landolfi played at Lawrence Academy and will be added as a PWO at Boston College. He liked mixing it up with different teammates.
“I'll be playing against some strong competitors and on the same team as some strong competitors,” Landolfi said. “It's fun to play with these guys. We've been preparing all week to play Milton Academy and stop Ryan Parker. Now we're playing with him? ?So that's pretty great.”
Fairhaven's Justin Marques loved being able to contribute.
“It was definitely fun. … It was really nice (to perform) for cancer research. It's such a great cause,” Marquez said.
“It's great to raise money knowing it's going to cancer research,” Burke said. “It’s great to be able to bring together some of the best athletes in Massachusetts here and do the same thing for the same goal and raise all the money.”
Everett's Christian Zamor is a bit of a veteran who also participated last year. He performed in heavy rain. This year it was a little chilly and windy, but still a huge improvement.
“It's gotten a lot better. We had a blast last year. It was still so much fun, just the energy that everyone brought, but I don't mind it at all if it doesn't rain,” Zamor said. “Me and the team are having fun. It's good. Now that football season is over, it's good to get out here and run around with the players.”
Winchester's Kieran Coe, who will continue his career at Harvard, won the kicking competition, which included a 55-yard field goal.
Jasper Johnson of Brooks raised $7,000, the most for an individual athlete.
“It's incredible to see it blossom like this,” Slonina said. “We've got Pat Patriot coming in today. It's a really big step. But I think we're always focused on the next step. We don't really rest on our laurels here. Yes, it's exciting, but I look at this and think this is going to be great in Connecticut. And this is going to be great in whatever state we go after.”
