Portsmouth/OR football to host benefit car wash Friday to help Oyster River players

PORTSMOUTH - The Portsmouth/Oyster River football team will hold a benefit car wash during its scrimmage Friday against Timberlane at Tom Daubney Field.

Freshmen and sophomores on the football team, as well as players from the Portsmouth Youth Football Association, will be washing cars from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Portsmouth High School. The varsity scrimmage is scheduled to kick off at 10 a.m.

"If all goes well, we'll have two stations to wash two cars at a time," Portsmouth/Oyster River head coach Brian Pafford said.

All donations from the car wash will be used to help the 28 Oyster River High School student-athletes on the football team. Each player from Oyster River is required to pay a $500 out-of-district fee to play.

"You can come by, get your car washed, and stop and watch the game," Portsmouth/Oyster River junior quarterback Andy Brown, a Portsmouth student, said.

The team did a similar fund-raiser ahead of the 2022 season , assisting two players who had difficulties paying the fee.

"This isn't the (exact) same, it's not just for one or two kids who will need it," Pafford said. "We're just going to help them and say 'OK you don't have to pay the $500, if we make enough (money), everyone gets $100, and now it's down to $400."

Pafford said the fund-raiser shows the Oyster River players are appreciated and valued to the program.

"It says 'hey, we care about you guys, and we want you to be here'," Pafford said. "We don't want you to be strapped, nor your parents to be strapped."

Brown, who said it's not an ideal situation for the Oyster River kids having to pay, said it's nice playing with the Oyster River student-athletes, saying the program gets more kids and more talent, which helps the team out 'a ton.'

"It also lets them play football, which is good," Brown said. "It shows how much the community can help and how helpful they are. It's a big ask for them to come from Oyster River daily to come practice and play, so it's good to help them."

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth/OR football to host benefit car wash Friday to help Oyster River players