Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/28/23
Staff Report
The 11th Annual “Fallen Heroes Game” between La Salle College High and DeMatha Catholic (MD) will be held Wednesday night (5:00) at the US Lacrosse’s Tierney Field in Sparks, MD.
The game honors the memory of two true American heroes: First LT. Travis Manion (La Salle), who died in Iraq in 2007; and his best friend and roommate from the US Naval Academy, Navy SEAL, Lt. Brendan Looney (DeMatha), who died in Afghanistan in 2010.
When Travis died he was originally buried in a family plot near his hometown. However, after Brendan passed away, the decision was made to bury both men side by side at Arlington National Cemetery. The decision to do this made national news and was covered by all of the major networks.
The first “Fallen Heroes Game” game was played in 2011 at the Naval Academy. Game two was held in 2012 at La Salle, in 2013 the game was held at Catholic University in Washington D.C. In 2014 the game was held at Penn University’s Penn Park, in 2015 it was held at Anne Arundel Community College (MD); and from 2016-18 it was held at Banner Field, Under Armour Headquarters. In 2019 it was held at Tierney Field and the game was not played in 2020 or 2021 due to COVID-19. In 2022 is returned to Tierney Field; La Salle won, 11-6.
La Salle leads the series, 9-1.
Travis played lacrosse in high school and wrestled at Navy. Brendan played football and baseball at DeMatha. At Navy, he played football and lacrosse, and was a key member of the Navy team that went to the National Championship Game in 2004.
La Salle is 0-2 and ranked No. 8 by Phillylacrosse.com. DeMatha, of the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, is 3-5.
“We are so thrilled to see this game renewed. The schools do a great job of honoring both fallen heroes and this game is good fellowship for all involved,” said La Salle coach Rob Forster. “It’s such a positive event. What are the odds that two young men, best friends, would die serving their country and can be honored by us playing a lacrosse game?”
Admission and proceeds will be donated to Manion/Looney Foundations.