The Juneau Alumni Football Game was the brainchild<\/a> of Juneau Huskies head coach Rich Sjoroos. He felt inspired to create the unique fundraiser after watching “Old Man Football<\/a>,” a documentary about a Texas football program that held an alumni game to honor a deceased former player.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Sjoroos, 49, coached the Crimson Bears from 2001-2013, and served as the head coach from 2009-2013. The two teams were the Stars and the Legends, and of the 70 alumni who participated, Sjoroos coached 52.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t The goal of the game was to raise $15,000 for the Juneau Huskies football program, and while the grand total raised is not yet official, Sjoroos said the event raised well above their goal before the game started.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t It was a low-scoring game of 10-7, with the Legends winning. The two teams went into halftime tied at 7-7, but the game was ultimately decided by a field goal late in fourth quarter. Sjoroos said he enjoyed seeing the balance of competition and fun.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “They had to feel each other out and get comfortable again,” Sjoroos said. “It reminded me of an early high school season football game, but early second quarter they settled in and started to make good drives and plays, and turning loose on the hitting.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t The game was also filmed by NFL Films, who after being contacted by alumni player Trevor League, came back to Juneau for the game almost 25 years after the program “Football in America,” that featured JDHS football in 1995, which originally looked at the challenges of developing a football program in Alaska, like having to play on dirt fields.<\/p>\n A video crew from NFL Films documents the 1st annual Juneau Alumni Football Game with football players, dance team members and cheerleaders from Juneau-Douglas and Thunder Mountain High Schools at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Field on Friday, May 24, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t Senior Producer for NFL Films Matt Dissinger was initially attracted to making a film about football in the capital city given its geographic location. However, as the film crew dug deeper they learned how the challenges the team faces with travel and fundraising tell the story of the community’s commitment to the game.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “We heard about 18- to 20-hour ferry rides, which is insane thing to overcome, and the fact that they are able to keep the program up and running, we just find it really unique. The fact that the kids participate in their own fundraising to keep the program going, is a story worth telling,” Dissinger said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t The game has united generations of Juneau football players which Tommy Penrose, 41, has really enjoyed.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “I am excited to go out and play with some of these guys that I have never played with, and how I will shape up with them or how they will shape up with me,” he said an hour before the game.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Penrose graduated in 1996 and was one of the players featured in the original 1995 NFL film. Today he now works for Hecla Mining Company at Greens Creek Mine.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t While Penrose was excited to take the field with his Juneau “brothers,” his father Dan Penrose vividly remembered the last time NFL Films was in Juneau filming.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “[The film] is good for Juneau, good for Juneau football,” he said. “I swell with pride that our little town can attract national attention.”<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/17005783_web1_190524Alumni_Football014.jpg\")
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