Titans clashed in challenger football game

POINT PLEASANT — The grounds of Community Park shook over the weekend, as a clash of two titans, Lester Glenn Subaru and the Point Pleasant Challengers, faced off head-to-head in a football spectacular.

This is the fourth annual year of the event, in which Lester Glenn raises money for the Point Pleasant Challenger Football Program, the special needs football program.

Jamie Palazzo, general manager of Lester Glenn Subaru in Toms River, told The Ocean Star, “We love doing this with these kids, to be honest with you. My boys participated in Point Pleasant high school football and they used to play with and against the Challengers. They got so much out of it I said we had to be a part of this.”

Seeing how much joy the Challenger league got from playing and interacting with members of the football team and the greater community, Palazzo went to the president and owner of Lester Glenn Subaru, Adam Kraushaar, and began to plan something to help support these kids.

“Every year now we run this event. We try to raise (over $10,000) for them. It gets the kids out here, everyone has a great time. We never win, but we are going to win this year. It is just a great event,” said Palazzo.

While the football game was the main attraction, community members also got to enjoy a day of fun, with various carnival games, bouncy castles, rock climbing, music and food trucks filling the park to give the day more and more to do. Plus, a small train gave rides to residents around the whole park throughout the day.

“Look at all the smiles. That tells you everything you need to know,” said Palazzo about why Lester Glenn continues to do this year after year.

Dan Richards, head coach of the Challengers, told The Ocean Star, “Without (Lester Glenn), we wouldn’t be doing this. (Palazzo) and the Lester Glenn people have offered us all of this, everything is all them. This is a great community event for all of us.”

This is an excerpt of the print article. For more on this story, read The Ocean Star —on newsstands Friday or online in our e-Edition.

Check out our other Point Pleasant Boro stories, updated daily. And remember to pick up a copy of The Ocean Star —on newsstands Friday or online in our e-Edition .

Subscribe today! If you're not already an annual subscriber to The Ocean Star , get your subscription today! For just $38 per year, you will receive local mail delivery weekly, with pages and pages of local news and online access to our e-edition on Starnewsgroup.com.