After his team escaped with a one-point win
yesterday, Jeff Golas savored the victory.
"This was a statement game for us," said the
offensive lineman for the Anne Arundel Admirals, who defeated the
Jersey Shore Jackals, 7-6, in Annapolis.
But then Golas, who is also an Anne Arundel
County police officer, acknowledged that it didn't matter if his
football team had won or not because the game raised at least $15,000
for the families of two police officers who died in traffic accidents
in the past year.
"It was a way for my team to give back," Golas
said.
Shane Evans, a six-year-veteran of the Annapolis
police force, was killed in September when a driver pulled in front of
him, causing him to crash his motorcycle on Route 32 in Sykesville.
And John J. Heidenberg, an Anne Arundel County police detective, died
in late May when he crashed his pickup truck near his home in
Mechanicsville.
The families of both men were at the game, held
at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, but declined to comment.
Some of the Admirals, a semiprofessional team
that practices two times a week, are police officers, and many have
been planning the game since Heidenberg's death. The Jackals, a
semipro team in Ocean County, N.J., also have several law-enforcement
officers on their roster.
The event had to be pushed back several times
because of scheduling conflicts, and even yesterday's intended
opponent, a team that includes several New York Police Department
officers, had to back out at the last minute.
But the Jackals were glad to fill in on short
notice, said quarterback Tom Zirino, an officer with the New York
office of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
"We've been hearing about the game for months,"
Zirino said. "Anything we could do to help, we would."
It was an exhibition game for both teams, and
play was marred by dropped passes, offside penalties and 15-yard
punts. "We weren't sharp," Golas said.
But players said they were more concerned about
paying tribute to the dead officers and box-office receipts. Because
neither Evans nor Heidenberg died on the job, their families would
probably receive less insurance money and benefits, officers said.
"The families of two officers needed to get
something," said Ron Gamble, an Anne Arundel County police officer who
plays defensive tackle.
Players from both teams shook hands after the
game and then knelt in a circle to remember Evans and Heidenberg.
"We're all one family here, and we have to look
out for each other," said Mike Harris, an Anne Arundel sheriff's
deputy. "One week, it could very well be my family that's without me."
