January 30, 2014
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Three Bluffton University football standouts got to put on their helmets and pads one final time on Monday, Jan. 20, as they were among the all-stars from across the country that were selected to play in Second Annual Dream Bowl. Seniors Josh Runda (Lima/Bath), Josh Hadley (Harper Woods, Mich.) and Drake Harrington (West Bloomfield, Mich.) made the trip to Virginia over Martin Luther King Day weekend to compete at the Vriginia beach Sportsplex following an NFL-run combine and two days of practices.
The three Beavers battled for the Patriots who came up just short against the Crusaders. Hadley and Runda both finished with two stops while Harrington hauled in two catches for 15 yards while also adding depth up front after a number of injuries on the offensive line.
Honorary Captain Levi Hains, a 6-year old boy who suffers from the most progressive form of Muscular Dystrophy, known as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, joined in the post-game euphoria and posed with the championship trophy surrounded by his friends from Lebanon Valley College, all-stars Joey Miller and Kevin Smith. Seeing the players from both teams gather around Levi proved that the final score no longer mattered. Parents hugged their children, many of whom will have played their last game at the Dream Bowl, and many more stopped to soak in the sunshine and savor the moment. Patriot center, Johnathon Alvarez, had over 20 friends and family members in the crowd. His father, Jorge, summed up the feelings surrounding the 2014 Dream Bowl, "we had an outstanding experience and the entire weekend was great and the Dream Bowl was a great send off to his college career. Thank you CESM for giving the players a memory to last a lifetime."
The Dream Bowl brought players and families together for one more college football game and helped raise awareness for Levi. CESM asks that everyone join Levi's Fight and help Levi and the Hains family discover a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. For further information about Levi's Fight please visit their website: www.levisfight.com
-BEAVERS-