Shrine Camp: Day 5
Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com
The New Hampshire Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl team put football on the back burner Sunday, when it traveled to the Shriners Hospital for Children in Springfield, Mass.
It was a special trip for Jeff Davis, an assistant coach with this year's team. Davis, who served as a captain for the Franklin High School football team in 2004 and 2005, suffered severe burns in seventh grade and was treated at the Shriners Hospital in Boston.
Kirk Beattie, the EMT who responded to the emergency call when Davis was burned, is the trainer for the New Hampshire team.
"They both spoke to the kids during the bus ride down and told them what they could expect to see," New Hampshire coach Greg Husband said. "It was pretty emotional for Jeff. He was nominated for the Shrine team as a senior but didn't make the final cut. It was kind of special for me to bring him up here."
Husband said the team was split into four groups and took a tour of the hospital. The team also watched a video and gave gifts to the patients.
"I was very impressed by our kids," Husband said. "New Hampshire was well represented."
The New Hampshire team did not practice Sunday, but the team did elect captains: offensive lineman Kyle Endyke (Bishop Guertin), defensive back Andrew Kukesh (Exeter), middle linebacker Eric Rajkowski (Exeter) and quarterback Andy Vailas (Bishop Guertin).
"It's all Exeter and BG," Husband said. "The funny thing is the four of them have hung around together since they've been here.
"The team voted on the captains and it was confirmed by the coaches. We had 17 players receive votes. I'd say 80 or 90 percent of the kids up here were captains on their team."
Husband said he has scheduled three practices Monday and three more Tuesday.
"We'll see how it goes from there," he said.
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Shrine fact: Vermont has failed to score in 11 of the 55 Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl games.
