Geno’s Generates Cash for V Foundation
Printer-friendly versionOn Wednesday, April 28th, students and staff gathered in Amity’s main gym for the third annual Coaches vs. Cancer basketball game to benefit the V Foundation for cancer research. Organized by Amity High School teacher Michael Cofrancesco and Angela Santacroce, a representative from the Geno’s Cancer Team, the event featured two teams of Amity High School and Middle School teachers and coaches against each other in a thrilling matchup.
In white was Team A, including Cofrancesco, math teacher Scott Demeo, chorus teacher Brennan Orie, math teacher John Adams, physical education teacher Rick McGowan, math teacher Frank Barretta, math teacher Mike Stockmal, and English teacher Sean Malloy.
Team B was dressed in yellow and consisted of physical education teacher Nicholas Dottori, social studies teacher Claude Roy, math teacher Matthew Zawacki, math teacher Joseph D’Averso, math teacher Bob McKernan, athletic director and coach Paul Mengold, head football coach Bert Mozealous, and assistant basketball coach Wally Carmichael. All tickets were $5 at the door.
The night began with a brief welcome and an introduction of the players by physical education teacher Debbie Davis. Once play commenced, Team A got off to a quick start in the first of four eight-minute quarters with six points from DeMeo and seven from Cofrancesco, including an easy three-pointer.
Team B trailed as the game headed into the first quarter intermission, during which math teacher Deborah DeMeo and Ms. Getz faced off in a dizzy bat contest that challenged competitors to make a lay-up after spinning around head-down over a baseball bat. After several attempts, it was Getz who prevailed after DeMeo, to the crowd’s amusement, veered off into the sidelines. Highlights of the second quarter included six points each from Adams and Cofrancesco, who again drained a couple of three-pointers.
The halftime intermission featured a video of the inspirational 1993 ESPY speech of Jim Valvano, former head coach of the 1983 NCAA champions North Carolina State University, upon accepting the Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award for his battle with bone cancer. It is in his honor that the V Foundation for Cancer Research was established. Valvano died just two months after that speech.
The game then resumed for the third and fourth quarters, in which main scorers included Stockmal with eight points, McKernan with six points, and Dottori and Adams with four points each. Though Team B came back strong in the third quarter, Team A ultimately ended with a dominant 64-44 victory.
The night concluded with a 50/50 raffle in which the winner took home half of the money raised from the raffle. Banners autographed by UConn women’s coach Geno Auriemma were also raffled off.
All in all, the night was a success as cheers and laughs filled the Amity gymnasium. Spectators were treated to an exciting basketball game and were able to simultaneously contribute to a great cause.
Amity junior Edward Hochman expressed his passion to help efforts for cancer research, explaining, “My friend and I founded the Amity Cancer Research Society a few years ago, and we've raised around $1,000 for the V Foundation, which is the same charity that the basketball game is looking to support. I’ve been doing publicity and urging people to come to the game because it’s an awesome cause.”
Cofrancesco, who has coached junior varsity basketball at Amity for the past 5 years, echoed this sentiment. “The first year, we raised around $850 for the V Foundation. The second year we made around $700.”
He added, “We hope to do even better this year because it really is important to do all we can to help the millions of people suffering from this terrible disease.”
