For the second consecutive year, the football teams from Perry and ADM will meet in a non-district scrap to open their respective seasons when the Tigers visit Dewey Field next Friday for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. While bragging rights among the players will certainly be on the line, a large group of interested adults will also be vying for boasting privileges.
Those adults represent the Perry and Adel Lions Clubs, who are once again sponsoring the opening-night gridiron battle as the “Rock Hunger in Dallas County” contest.
“Two years ago we saw an increasing need to address the issue of hunger in Dallas County,” Perry Lions president Dave Wright said. “We contacted the Lions in Adel and decided we would make the game a ‘traveling trophy’ game while at the same time use the occasion to collect food for our local pantries.”
As both schools play in the Raccoon River Conference and both towns are situated along the Raccoon River, a sizable rock was found and engraved. Featuring the inscription “Rock Hunger in Dallas County” along with images of football players and the names of the two Lions clubs, the ‘trophy’ is awarded to the winning team.
ADM currently hold the Rock, having posted a rain-soaked 15-9 win over visiting Perry last year in a game that was delayed 30 minutes at one juncture due to lightning.
“We want to win the Rock, of course, but the main point is stressing that everyone wins when communities pull together to fight hunger,” Wright said. “Hunger is something people think exists only in poor countries, but talk to the people at the food pantry here and they will tell you how wrong you are. When someone loses their job, is hit with high health bills or some unexpected cost, is unable to work or any other number of things, it can quickly lead to hunger problems. We can all come together to help address that.”
Wright noted that a growing percentage of students in Perry schools qualify for free or reduced meals and that many come to school hungry or rely heavily on the breakfast and lunch they are served at school because there may be little or no food available at home.
To alleviate some of those needs, the two Lions clubs will be collecting food for the pantries in Perry and Adel. Each club will give their collections to their respective pantries.
“Anything we collect will stay right there in Perry,” Wright assured. “Last year we collected over 2,000 pounds of food and received $600 in donations. Those donations really matter, too, because the pantries have arrangements with various suppliers and companies and can make each dollar go three or four times farther than an individual can.”
The Perry Lions will be helped in their food drive by the Bluejay Congress (PHS student government members), who provided aid in collecting items last year as well.
Lions members will be going door-to-door in Perry from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday gathering non-perishable food items. Those wishing to contribute to the cause may also bring items to Medicap Pharmacy on First Avenue, to the PHS office or to the gate on game night.
“The officials at the Perry pantry told us last year when we dropped off what we had collected that they had not seen such a large donation come in all at once,” Wright said. “Our goal is to make them forget last year when they see how much we bring them this year.”
