It feels like fall

Former NFL pros play Leonardtown coaching staff in a game of flag football

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by REID SILVERMAN Leonardtown track and field coach Shawn Snyder makes a move around the tag of former NFL defensive back John Booty. Booty played eight years in the NFL, most notably with the N.Y. Jets. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

On May 16 at Leonardtown High School, such was the case, even if it was May and people expected a warm, spring evening. The weather was more reminiscent of those October nights and while the game on the field wasn’t a high school match, it was entertaining nonetheless as the Leonardtown football coaching staff battled a group of retired National Football League players in a 48-minute flag football contest.

‘‘We hope to continue to do things like this,” said Leonardtown head football coach Anthony Pratley. ‘‘It’s for the community, a chance for us to get involved. It’s important to be a part of the community and this is like a thank you from us to the community.”

The game on the field featured the Leonardtown coaching staff, spearheaded by Pratley, versus a motley crew of retired players and locals associated with the Leonardtown program. The three former pros that appeared were Andre Collins and Ravin Caldwell, both known mostly for their work with the Washington Redskins, and John Booty, a former defensive back who played eight years in the NFL, most notably with the New York Jets.

‘‘I usually stick to golf, where it’s non-contact and there isn’t as much movement,” said Caldwell, speaking of his charity events. ‘‘But anytime we can get out and help, it’s all for a good cause, so I enjoy doing it.”

The Raiders got the idea for a game when Pratley played in a similar match before a game of the Chesapeake Tide, an indoor football team in Upper Marlboro. After the match, Pratley asked Booty if he would be willing to help organize a similar event in Leonardtown and the former defensive back was more than happy to oblige.

‘‘He wanted to help rebuild his program here and that’s what we’re all about,” said Booty. ‘‘We’re former NFL players and we’re former high school players. So, doing something for the high school football team or the sports department is up our alley.”

The players gave more than an exciting performance on the field. Before the game, Andre Collins, a starter for the Redskins squad that won Super Bowl XXVI and a member of the 1986 Penn State national championship team, gave a talk to a group of VIPs, mostly kids. The former player talked about, among other things, his unusual path to the NFL and the mistakes he made along the way.

‘‘It’s an opportunity to be able to say to some of the young people, ‘Hey don’t this, I went down that road, you’re just wasting your time there,’” said Collins, who is currently the director of retired players for the NFL Players Association. ‘‘And really for me the message I try to bring forward is always do your best. If you bring it down to that one, simple phrase –– always do your best. That sums up everything.”

On the field, the retired players offered a thrill to the Leonardtown supporters. Ultimately, it ended with a 91-77 victory by the retired players, as Caldwell, a two-time Super Bowl champ with the Redskins, caught a last-second interception to end the game.

But for those involved, like Raiders assistant coach Dale Gaetano, who intercepted the second pass of the game which just happened to be thrown by Caldwell, the experience was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

‘‘I think it’s fantastic,” said Gaetano. ‘‘They’re all really good guys. They sat there and talked to the kids and you heard not only the football stuff, but all of the schooling and the grades and character stuff. They carry a lot of weight when they talk to these kids.”

Some people, like local football coach Avell Barnes of Great Mills, think Pratley is heading in the right direction. Barnes played with the NFL squad Friday night and said it was a thrill to play with the retired players. He was also impressed with Pratley, whose offense and defense will be emulated by Barnes’ squad, for 12- to 14-year-olds, in the future, in hopes of preparing players for Leonardtown.

But as for the present, the game with the retired players and their impact on the young kids who attended the event was more exciting than most could put into words.

‘‘We want to train them to be student-athletes,” said Barnes. ‘‘The academics come first. ... It’s great because it lets them know that these guys went from little league all the way to the pros and they stress something that we stress. Academics, your education come first.”