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GilbertSunNews.com
GILBERT SUN NEWS | SEPTEMBER 26, 2021
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ALA – Gilbert to honor first responders, heroes Friday BY ZACH ALVIRA GSN Sports Editor
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merican Leadership Academy – Gilbert North is hosting its fifth annual First Responders Appreciation Football Game Friday when it hosts its sister school, American Leadership Academy – Queen Creek. The event, which will begin at 5 p.m. and lead up to kickoff of the game between the two schools at 7:15 p.m., will honor a slew of first responders, including local police, fire departments, the U.S. Marshals, county police departments and both active and veteran military personnel. Randy Ricedorff, the athletic director and head football coach at ALA – Gilbert, said the event is to simply show appreciation for those who protect the freedoms of the American people on a daily basis. “We do pregame dedications before every home game,” Ricedorff said. “We
American Leadership Academy – Gilbert North will host its fifth annual First Responders Appreciation Football Game on Friday, Oct. 1 when it hosts sister school American Leadership Academy – Queen Creek. (Andy Silvas/GSN Contributor)
honor moms, dads, teachers, and we always have done one for first responders. Now, it’s at a whole new level. It’s a good event for the recognition the first responders deserve.” Ricedorff began this type of event in 2016 when he was at Show Low. Before one of his team’s games, a local police officer was killed in the line of duty at a nearby apartment complex. His team honored both him and his family at their next game. It’s taken off since then. The ceremony Friday will begin transcribing thank you letters to first responders at 5 p.m. Friday, which will then be followed by a BBQ for all first responders attending the game at 6 p.m. There will also be a meet and greet at that time for fans attending the game to personally thank them themselves. A pregame ceremony will take place at 6:40 p.m., where first responders will
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HEROES page 27
‘I just want to kick’: star Mesquite soccer player joins the football team BY MIA JONES GSN Contributor Writer
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ootball is historically a men’s sport, however in recent years young women have been joining the boys on the field. One of those young women is Tegan Keil. Ever since she was little, Keil has been an avid soccer player, swimmer and track athlete, but she wanted to add another sport onto her roster. She had seen dozens of videos of different female football players around the country. When she saw the video of Vanderbilt soccer player Sarah Fuller stepping in as kicker the idea sprouted in Keil’s head to follow suit and become a kicker. According to Keil, it all started as a joke, then she received her first ball
Keil, while successful this season, saw it come to an end after she suffered a knee injury against Combs. No matter the results, she aims to continue working toward making it back to the field and support her “50 brothers.” (Mia Jones/Contributor)
and tee for Christmas in 2020. She then went out to a park near her house and started practicing kicking. After that day, Keil knew that becoming a kicker was no longer a joke but something serious that she wanted to pursue. Keil officially joined the Mesquite varsity team as a sophomore in July. She worked hard at practice and was determined to make her kicks go farther and farther. “She is a dedicated player who works hard on her craft each day,” Mesquite head coach Scott Hare said. However, being a kicker, practices were usually away from the rest of the team. “In the beginning it was really hard
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KEIL page 27
