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Inaugural Foam Football Toss Coming Up on July 17th

July 7, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Bakersfield Blitz News Release


Bakersfield, Calif. - The Bakersfield Blitz of the af2 will be holding the first annual Foam Football Toss on Saturday, July 17th as they host the Central Valley Coyotes at Centennial Garden. Game time is 7:00 p.m.

The team is asking fans to bring a new or gently used foam-style football to the game for donation to local children's charities. When the Blitz score their first touchdown of the night, fans will throw them onto the field. The footballs will be collected and donated to the Bakersfield Police Activities League, which, in addition to serving as a local youth center is also a secondary practice location for the Blitz.

Located in southeast Bakersfield at 301 E. 4th Street, the BPAL Youth Center provides a safe haven for underprivileged youth to participate in after-school and summer programs including social development programs for boys and girls, academic tutoring, science projects, community service and athletic activities. Founded in 1994, Bakersfield police officers and volunteers currently provide services to hundreds of kids who desperately need organized programs and adult supervision as an alternative to gangs and juvenile delinquency.

"This is a first for Bakersfield and we're hoping everyone will have some fun with it," said Bakersfield Sports Entertainment President Matthew Riley. "We're looking forward to dumping off a huge amount of footballs for the kids down at the Police Activities League. They're a great organization and we want to help them out."

Bakersfield Sports Entertainment has become one of the most awarded and philanthropic corporations in Kern County over the last six years, mainly through the Bakersfield Condors hockey team of the ECHL, and now reaching into the 2004 Blitz season, the first year for the arena football team under BSE's umbrella. In its history, over $1 million in cash, goods and services has been donated throughout the community by BSE, including this season's Jersey Off Our Backs Raffle and Auction for the Blitz Armed Forces Day jerseys in May.

The first-place Bakersfield Blitz will look to extend their lead atop the West Division this Saturday with a match against the second place Hawaiian Islanders. Game time is 9:30 p.m. PST from Honolulu, Hawaii. They return home for the first time in a month on July 17th against Central Valley. The first 2,000 kids 12 and under will receive a free bobblehead doll of Blitz QB Chad Elliott, courtesy of KGET-TV 17 and Del Taco.

All Blitz games, home and away, can be heard on KGEO AM 1230 with the "Voice of the Blitz" Kevin Bartl. "Countdown to Kickoff" begins 15 minutes prior to the start of the game.

Pro-rated season tickets and group outings for the Blitz are on sale now by contacting the Blitz office at 716-BLITZ (2548) or by stopping by the Bakersfield Sports Entertainment office located at Centennial Garden. The Garden box office is open Monday through Friday 10:00am - 5:00pm and opens at noon on Saturday gamedays. For up-to-date information on the Blitz log on to www.bakersfieldblitz.com.

Extra Points: The Bakersfield Blitz have climbed into the 7th spot in the Top 12 weekly af2 Coach's Poll. The blitz managed to move up a notch from the 8th spot during the bye week. The Hawaiian Islanders moved into the 12th spot after not appearing on last weeks list. The Blitz vs. Islanders game is one of three games this weekend featuring top 12 teams.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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