HEADstrong Foundation to sponsor 1st Annual Rivalry Games at Widener

Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 1/19/10
From Press Releases

The HEADstrong Foundation, a charity dedicated to raising funds and awareness for blood cancer research, announced today it will sponsor the First Annual HEADstrong Rivalry Games; an invitational featuring five Philadelphia-area boys’ conference games and a major Division III showdown.

The event will be held at Widener University in Chester, PA., on Saturday, April 3. The host Pioneers, winners of four of the last five Middle Atlantic Conference championships, meet nine-time defending Colonial States Athletic Conference champion Cabrini College at 3:30 p.m.

Between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m., the five scholastic league matchups will be held for varsity and JV. They include two-time defending state champion La Salle vs. St. Joseph’s Prep (Catholic League), District 11 champion Emmaus vs. Easton (Lehigh Valley League), Pennsbury vs. Neshaminy (Suburban One National Conference), Unionville vs. Sun Valley (Ches-Mont League) and Ridley vs. Strath Haven (Central League). Times of the scholastic games will be released later.

The marquee game will be the La Salle-St. Joseph’s Prep contest. Last year La Salle edged The Prep, 4-3, in the District 12 championship game and went on to win the first Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association title. La Salle, ranked among the top teams in the nation in several national polls, finished first in the final PA Media Rankings and St. Joseph’s Prep was third.

The Rivalry Games is just part of a family of events run by the HEADstrong foundation, which raise money/awareness for blood cancer research as well as help those afflicted by this horrible disease. Each of the teams will keep with HEADstrong tradition by conducting a blood cancer awareness campaign on their respective campuses by distributing literature and selling official HEADstrong t-shirts.

The HEADstrong Foundation was created in memory of Nick “Head” Colleluori who was a 2004 graduate of Ridley High School and was a Hofstra University Lacrosse player when he was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Nick lost his relentless battle to cancer on November 28, 2006 after a 14-month fight.

To learn more about HEADstrong’s Team of Champions to Combat Blood Cancer, please visit http://www.HEADstrongfoundation.org