‘A moment to say thank you.’ State College honors local heroes during home football games
“Hometown hero” is a widely used term that has no singular definition.
Often firefighters, police officers and athletes are the most frequently referenced — generally with one courageous act or standout moment solidifying their spot in local lore.
Another group of people that receive recognition is military members, who are often categorized in this group for awarded, unique heroics rather than typical service.
However, this isn’t the case during State College Area High School football games.
Following the first quarter of every home contest at Memorial Field this season, the school and onlooking fans have taken a moment to recognize and applaud an active duty military member or veteran.
Those who have been recognized through the team’s first four home games include: Staff Sergeant Kevin Dunklebarger (Army), Sergeant Victoria Ann Cebulla (Marine Corps), Hospital Corpsman Matt Moritz (Navy) and Specialist Brian Parfitt (Navy/Army/Army Reserve/Army National Guard).
State High Assistant Athletic Director Loren Crispell, the program’s organizer, said he and his colleagues saw the opportunity to say thank you to those who they believe deserve it.
“It was our athletic department’s idea to try to find a way to recognize those in our community who have sacrificed for our country and given so much to our community,” Crispell said. “And (we’re) just trying, in the smallest of ways, take a moment to say thank you.”
Though rivals on the field and in the stands, student-athletes, coaches and fans of both teams rally to cheer for the Hometown Hero during the contest’s first set break.
To go along with the military member recognition, the squad also started a tradition of choosing one player to read a quote ahead of the game in concert with a player from the other team. The moment is another show of unity between two schools that are just minutes away from battling it out on the gridiron in front of hundreds of fans.
In terms of expanding the new tradition to other sports, Crispell said he is unsure if that’ll happen but added there is room for different ways to continue that bond.
“I think we’d like to try to build upon it wherever we can get the proper setting,” Crispell said. “I know that, just in a few weeks of talking to different veterans, they are eager to work with our students. So, I think there will be opportunities. I’m not sure we know what those are yet, but we’d love to build upon it wherever we can.”
So far this campaign, the Little Lions sit at 8-0 on the year including 4-0 at home. With one regular season home game left to play on Friday, at least one more military member, current or former, will stand on the field and take in the loud applause from all around them.
State High’s final home contest comes against Cumberland Valley High School at 7 p.m. on Friday.
“We have so many people that have done such fantastic things in our community,” Little Lions head coach Matt Lintal said. “To be able to recognize them here in front of a fantastic crowd each and every week — it’s truly an honor to have them here celebrating with us.”