Last Tuesday all of the drinks, food, eating utensils, spirit wear and a lot more the Pirates had collected went up in smoke when a garage that was used for storage burned. All was lost.
“It was devastating,” said Sharlene Sizer of the West Carrollton Touchdown Club. “We’re a close-knit group. We’re a small school. We all felt really terrible.
“The Touchdown Club stuff was the last thing on everybody’s mind, but, obviously, we’re in the midst of football season. We need to get this taken care of.”
The person whose home was damaged did not want to be identified.
West Carrollton football traditionally collects pregame food and beverages during a team picnic to signal the end of preseason camp. Each grade is assigned particulars from spaghetti to Gatorade.
The high school didn’t have enough storage for all of the coolers and packages, so a longtime Pirates patron offered the garage.
The fire apparently started there. No one was injured.
Besides the food, also lost were old table ornaments that celebrated past teams. Students made those collectibles long ago at the high school. “But that can be replaced and we’ll start a new tradition,” Sizer said.
The West Carrollton peewee football organization donated money that took care of this week’s pregame meal. The season opens at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown vs. Stebbins at Centerville. That’s the first game of a Crosstown tripleheader.
If you’d like to donate to the Pirates’ pregame cause, contact Sizer through the school’s athletic department at (937) 859-5121.
“Anything that anyone could donate would be very much appreciated,” she said.
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