PROCEEDS TO BENEFIT CHALLENGER LEAGUE (NJ)

 *The Shore Gridiron Classic will be held on Friday, July 18 at 7 p.m. at Brick Township High School, pitting the best seniors from Ocean County against their counterparts from Monmouth County. Tickets are available in advance at all Applebee's locations in Monmouth and Ocean County, as well as Huddy's Inn in Colts Neck and Velocity Sports Performance in Wall. The tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door.*

*Legendary Brick head football coach Warren Wolf will be inducted into the Shore Conference Football Coaches Foundation Hall of Fame at halftime of the Shore Gridiron Classic. He will be the first member of the inaugural Hall of Fame class. Wolf will begin his 51st year as Brick's only head coach this Fall and has a career record of 355-119-11. He has guided the Dragons to six NJSIAA state titles since 1974.
    The SCFCF is encouraging anyone who has ever played for Wolf to come to the Shore Gridiron Classic and stand with him on the field during his induction ceremony. All former players are, of course, asked to wear green.*

*The radio broadcast of the game will be on WOBM AM 1160 beginning at 6:45 p.m., and WOBM's Kevin Williams will be hosting his daily show, "The Locker Room,'' from the field at Brick from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on gameday.*

By Scott Stump - Senior Editor
E-mail: stump@digitalsports.com

     TOMS RIVER - Shortly after speaking to the squad of Ocean County all-stars who will be suiting up for Friday night's Shore Gridiron Classic, Dennis Filippone and Joe DiPietro admitted that those type of athletes are a core component of what looks to be a successful launch of the newly formed Ocean County Challenger League.
     "Their support will be an integral success of this program,'' said Filippone, who is the principal of Brick Township High School and also is one of the driving forces behind the creation of the Challenger League along with DiPietro, an assistant principal at Southern Regional, and Ocean County Council PTA president Cathy Lindenbaum.
     "Even though they've graduated, they can be the torch-bearers for their school,'' DiPietro said about the senior all-stars.
     With the football players supporting the Challenger League program, which aims to provide special needs students with the ability to participate in athletics along with their peers, it makes perfect sense for the Shore Conference Football Coaches Foundation to pair up with the Challenger League to raise money for the program through Friday night's Shore Gridiron Classic at Brick. A 50-50 raffle will be held with all of the proceeds going to help fund the Challenger League, and a portion of the ticket sales from the game will also go to benefit the league.
     DiPietro and Filippone addressed the Ocean County players before practice on Thursday, gauging their interest in accompanying a disabled athlete from their respective school on to the field before Friday night's game.
     "They were 100 percent behind it,'' Filippone said.
     Every school in Ocean County is expected to be represented with a Challenger League athlete on Friday night, giving the public a glimpse of what is to come in the fall when the Ocean County Challenger League kicks off with soccer and flag football leagues. The teams will be accompanied by "buddies" - able-bodied athletes from their respective schools who will serve as mentors and coaches for each team, which is where the football players come in.
     "This will be the first taste of what it is going to be like,'' said DiPietro, who is the coordinator of Southern's autistic program.
     The benefit for the Challenger League will also coincide with the induction of legendary Brick coach Warren Wolf into the inaugural class of the SFCF Hall of Fame at halftime.
      "Coach Wolf has been very supportive of the (Challenger) League and has been extremely helpful in getting it started,'' said Filippone, a Brick graduate who played for Wolf.
     The league also is a dose of reality for the able-bodied football players who sometimes take their health for granted.
     "It won't hit them until they are walking on the field, and they realize the gifts they've been given,'' DiPietro said.
     The hope for the Challenger League is that on Friday night, fans will give a little gift of their own with every ticket they purchase and every 50-50 chance that they take.