RallyNorth.net

Off the field

Monday, September, 10 By Cate Lecuyer
Staff writer

Football is now underway and throughout the season, attention will be upon each and every player -- their strategies on the field, their kicks, their goal, and their dramatic wins and heartbreaking losses. But what about the people off the field? At Saturday's opening game between the Bevelry Panthers and Lynn English at Hurd Stadium, people behind the scenes made sure everything ran smoothly and turned a football game into a true community event.

Pat Patnaude, booster mom

Special talent: selling 50/50 raffle tickets

How did you get involved? This is my eighth year. I started with my son who graduated four years ago and my other son is a senior now. You just want to be there for your kids and this is a way to help.

What's the most money raised from the 50/50 raffle? Last year at Thanksgiving it was over $1,200, so someone got over $600.

Where does the money go? Scholarships and some of it is used at the end of preseason for a cookout for all the players and families. This year the boosters bought a banner that went across Cabot Street, with all the dates of the home games in Hurd Stadium. They give the kids T-shirts sometimes and pay for jackets and a banquet for all the kids (who earn a varsity) letter at the end of the season.

What else do you do besides sell raffle tickets? I just help with whatever the boosters do. We had a golf tournament where we raised money for the budget. The kids also do a lift-a-thon and we coordinate that. During the season we meet weekly or every other week to talk about budgets and fundraising. It's like a PTO kind of thing."

That sounds like a lot of time. I wouldn't be able to tell you because it's just something you do. My biggest problem is probably making phone calls because I talk too much.

What's going to happen when your son graduates this year? I'm going to stay on the boosters because it's a good group of people and I want to see it to continue to succeed.

Mike Dettorre, drum line section leader

Special talent: keeping the crowd entertained between plays

What's your favorite musical moment during games? Drum line originality. When we (goof) around.

Does that happen a lot? I find we're the goofiest section. It's like a big family. We're the most tied together.

Why is that? We practice seven days a week and drum line meets three times a week for outside of school rehearsals.

You must be pretty good. Last year was the fifth consecutive year winning the band Olympics.

Which is? All the different sections -- drum line, trumpets, low brass, clarinets, flutes and piccolos and saxophone -- compete against each other.

What's your secret to winning? We're very disciplined.

So if someone messes up? We have to run laps or do push-ups. And I yell a lot.

What's the best part about playing at a football game? We're the team spirit.

Amanda Johnson, cheerleading captain

Special talent: organizing stunts before games

Were you guys the ones who hung streamers and balloons around the stands? Yeah, we decorate the stadium and the locker room. Everyone has their own players.

How long before the game did you start? We got here at about 11 a.m. and then drove back to the high school to march with the band.

In this heat? It's kind of miserable, but our moms brought water and Popsicles. The boys must be so much hotter.

So how do you come up with cheers? We're a competition squad, so we have choreography.

You must have some serious stunts. We've had girls break noses and have to get their jaws realigned.

But it's worth it? Oh yeah. You make a lot of friends. We've all done it since we were young.

Peg Bailey, clock lady

Special talent: making sure the scoreboard is right

This job seems like a lot of pressure. You have to pay attention and it's a lot of math. But my clock's not official. The refs keep the real time, but we try to stay as close together as possible. I'm usually right with them.

How does that work? They have signals. Like when they flag their arms they want me to stop the clock.

So you must notice every move in the game. I understand the game of football, but if you ask me the plays I don't know. I know how to run the clock.

Have you ever messed up? Sometimes when I don't start it people start yelling. Usually I don't get into a conversation with them because it's not appropriate.

How long have you been doing it for? This is my sixth year here in Beverly and my 13th in Winthrop and my 31st in Winthrop girls basketball. I started doing that when I was 15.

What got you into it? I like being a part of athletics. Just being involved is the big thing for me.

Do you play any sports? I still play softball.