'It hits home.' High school football stars rally to fundraise for cancer before ASFL Bowl

Football in April? It’s happening this weekend in Needham.

For the first time, A Shot For Life (ASFL) is hosting the ASFL Bowl, a gridiron event that features some of the top high school football players from across New England — all while raising money for cancer research.

“It takes a long time to build these things,” said Mike Slonina, CEO and founder of ASFL. “We talk about it so much, work on it so much and to see it come to life is really exciting.”

The ASFL Bowl is the football sibling to the ASFL Challenge (basketball), ASFL Baseball/Softball Home Run Derby and Pitchers Challenge, the ASFL Courage Cup (soccer) and the ASFL Clash Against Cancer (lacrosse).

For Slonina, adding football has been a thrilling next step for the organization. Even if running the event comes with a little angst.

“I’m feeling as good as I can be feeling (heading into the ASFL Bowl),” Slonina said. “We are sort of a decade-plus now into these events, but football is new and every sport has its own wrinkles and unique qualities.

“So there are definitely going to be things we’re going to learn on the fly when we’re there, but I feel like we’re as prepared as we can be.”

What is A Shot For Life?

A Shot For Life is a non-profit organization that funds health and cancer research initiatives through sports-based initiatives, community in-person events and online activities, according to its website.

“As much as we are raising money for cancer research, we are also a community of athletes that are using sports to impact the world off of the court, field or ice,” Slonina said.

Who is competing in the ASFL Bowl?

The ASFL Bowl will showcase 41 football players from across the MIAA and NEPSAC leagues in a few 7v7 games on Sunday (1-7 p.m.) at St. Sebastian’s School.

• Danny Edgehill - Xaverian

• Austin McCarthy - Catholic Memorial

• Nick Yanchuk - Bishop Feehan

• Jake Holtschlag - Milton Academy

• Mickey Doyle - Catholic Memorial

• Ryan Puglisi - Avon Old Farms

• Jose Touron - Taunton

• Josh Melia - Needham

• Andrew Toland - BC High

• Christian Zamor - Everett

• Anthony Busa - Xaverian

• Joey Duggan – Noble and Greenough

• Jason Hall - Suffield Academy

• Braedan Donovan - Berkshire

• Matt Rios - Catholic Memorial

• JC Petrongolo - Catholic Memorial

• Tru Styles - St. Mark's

• Max Stevelman - Rivers

• Diego McCray - St. George's

• Brady McGowan - Catholic Memorial

• Carson Browne - St. John's Prep

• Brody Rice - BC High

• Kalyl Lindsey - Rivers

• Matt Festa - Duxbury

• Landon Bailey - St. Sebastian’s

• Brian Logan - Belmont

• Charlie Carroll - Marshfield

• Colin Benson - BC High

• Jay Comeau - Cardinal Spellman

• Alex Carucci - North Reading

• Adrien Gurung - Belmont

• Matt Childs - Milton Academy

• Hayes McCarron - BC High

• Marshall Rice - BC High

• Jake Haarde - Lincoln-Sudbury

• Samuel Joseph - Andover

• Isaiah Kacyvenski - BB&N

• Daniel Drucker - Belmont Hill

• Sam Johnson - Milton Academy

• Matt Shaw - Governor's Academy

• Michael Oates - Xaverian

All participants are scouted and then go through an interview process before being picked to join the ASFL team. Players are then asked to raise at least $1,000 — with all proceeds going to the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center.

“(Slonina) made it clear that before the interviews, they select the players. But after the interviews, they select the people,” Lincoln-Sudbury junior Jake Haarde said. “It was an honor. I could tell it was a great program and it was a privilege to be selected for it.”

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In 2018, Matt Childs’ older sister, Riley, competed in the ASFL Challenge for basketball. So when Slonina selected the Medway resident earlier this year to participate in the ASFL Bowl, Childs was ecstatic.

So, too, was Childs’ sibling.

“I’m so happy for Matt that he gets this opportunity to join ASFL,” Riley Childs said. “I had the best time participating in the organization and I’m glad he gets to do the same thing.”

For Matt Childs, playing in the football fundraiser on Sunday has added meaning. Both of his mother’s parents died from cancer.

“It hits home when it’s my grandparents,” Childs said.

How are players preparing for the ASFL Bowl?

The last time Haarde threw on shoulder pads was when the Lincoln-Sudbury football team beat Newton South on Thanksgiving.

Since then, the star two-sport athlete from Sudbury has focused on baseball. Despite being in the midst of the high school season with L-S, Haarde didn’t want to pass up the chance to join the ASFL team and play football this weekend.

“At first, I kind of was like baseball is my priority and it’s something I'll look into,” Haarde said. “But looking at the organization and talking to Mike (Slonina), I found out how it was an honorable organization and I didn't want to miss the opportunity.”

On Wednesday, Childs caught passes from the incoming QB at Milton Academy in preparation for the ASFL Bowl. The Milton Academy junior is taking the star-studded game seriously but noted that the most important aspect of the day is to have fun.

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So far, Childs’ experience with ASFL has been positive.

“I know that it’s going to sound cheesy but you get to experience something that most people don’t,” he said. “It’s just cool to see that football can bring so many people together that you wouldn’t expect.”

That’s the goal of ASFL, all while raising money for cancer research.

And on Sunday, Slonina gets to add another sporting event to the ASFL family. He’s happy to have Childs and Haarde, and the rest of the hand-picked football players, kick off the ASFL Bowl.

“They're kind of godfathering in a new sport in Massachusetts for us,” Slonina said. “I’m extremely proud of the players we have that are going to be studs for us on the field and represent ASFL proudly off of the field.”

Tommy Cassell is a senior multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at tcassell@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @tommycassell44. 

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Local high school football players fundraise for cancer with ASFL