INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Die-hard football fans have merged with fans of higher education for the past seven years, coming together to watch as the Vero Beach Fighting Indians and the Sebastian River Sharks battle it out on the gridiron at the Dollars for Scholars Football Classic.
In 2006, a then-untested rivalry first brought the teams together for a pre-season scrimmage; in 2010 the games became sanctioned.
As fans poured into the Citrus Bowl’s Billy Livings Field, a sold-out crowd of 175 Dollars for Scholars supporters enjoyed a pre-game VIP Bono’s barbeque dinner in a tent located in the shadow of the eastern end goal post.
Seemingly unperturbed while they dined, despite practice footballs occasionally bouncing onto the tent, the guests were later equally courageous as they sat during the game on chairs lining an end zone.
“The Dollars for Scholars Football Classic has evolved into a trinity,” said Camilla Wainright, Dollars for Scholars executive director. “Anytime Vero Beach and Sebastian teams play – football, baseball or basketball, game proceeds go to Dollars for Scholars.”
In the past, the football games have been played at alternating stadiums, but Wainright said that for logistical reasons, they have decided that going forward the games will all be played at Citrus Stadium. Vero Beach will also host the basketball game.
“The baseball games are played at Dodger Stadium,” said Wainright. “All the kids that play – both teams – wear Dodger uniforms. They left them for the kids; they had a couple of different color uniforms. So it’s really cool for the kids to play at that venue.”
Dollars for Scholars board president Katy Block Faires is having a busy year, having also taken on the role of co-chair for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk.
“It’s the same day as our golf tournament; I’m going to have to run from one to the other,” said Faires, referencing the Dan K. Richardson and William L. Marine Dollars for Scholars Golf Classic, scheduled to take place on Oct. 20 at the Grand Harbor Golf Club. The organization’s other main fundraiser is a “Tie”Bration event in February, honoring the memory of the late Darby Gibbons.
“Last year we gave out 88 scholarships to 58 students; a total of $471,000,” said Faires. “The scholarship minimum is $2,500 per year, so when someone gets a scholarship they will get at least that. Scholarships go up to $20,000.”
In theory, the pre-game tent is neutral ground, but there was clearly a preponderance of red shirts in support of the Fighting Indians.
Brenda Smith was one of the few in Shark blue, but she smiled and said, “Actually, I’m a Vero Beach alumna. Both my kids graduated from Sebastian River, in 2005 and 2009, so I wear blue now. We support our kids.”
Her son, Chad, played on the Sebastian River High School baseball and football teams, she said, and her daughter, Courtney, was in the marching band.
“She actually got a scholarship from Dollars for Scholars and is at USF in their marching band now,” Smith said, adding that Chad is now at Ohio Northern University.
As always, the big winners will be the students who score Dollars for Scholars scholarships in the spring and go on to fulfill their college dreams.
The Fighting Indians dominated this year’s exciting game, shutting out the Sharks with a 27-0 victory, bringing the seven year game rivalry to a score of Indians five to Sharks two.
More than $85,000 has been raised over the years through the Football Classic. Since its 1965 founding, Dollars for Scholars has awarded $8.1 million in scholarships to 2,599 Indian River County students.