METAMORA, Ill. (BP)–Where’s the party?
Just ask Rod Schertz, who came up with an alternative Friday night activity for high school teenagers after football games.
Instead of partaking in the usual weekend menu of parties, drinking and mischief, most students in Metamora, Ill., choose to hang out at the “5th Quarter Bonfire” every Friday night. Held at Schertz’s house in the country, kids enjoy free food and sodas while socializing with their friends. Pick-up basketball games are par for the evening, and Christian music can be heard in the background.
“My wife, Jill, and I started the bonfire as a means of providing a safe place for teens to hang out after the game,” said Schertz, whose son, Adam, is a senior cornerback for the Metamora Township High School football team. “I thought kids needed an after-football game activity.”
“There’s something for everybody,” said senior strong safety Ryan McCoy. “And there’s a ton of kids who go to it.”
What began as a family ministry four years ago has evolved into an event that attracts more than one-fourth of Metamora Township High School’s 850 students.
“It’s now grown to the point that our church helps out,” said Schertz, who attends Great Oaks Community Church. “It just spread by word of mouth and by church youth groups.”
“The stereotype for a football team is that everyone parties,” said McCoy. “No one on our football team does that because there’s the 5th Quarter Bonfire. It takes away that temptation.”
In addition to the football team and cheerleaders, numerous fans attend the bonfire.
“Obviously, not everyone who goes is a Christian,” McCoy said. “There’s Christian music going in the background, so that’s a subconscious witness. And there are good people there and good examples to follow. [Kids] can see that they don’t have to party to have fun.”
In addition to fun, this football season has been particularly successful for Metamora. For the fourth time in the past five years, the Redbirds played for the Class 4A high school football state championship.
Although Metamora lost a 27-14 heartbreaker to Joliet Catholic on Nov. 25, the Redbirds finished the season with an impressive 9-1 record and their heads held high.
“Football is not life,” McCoy said. “It’s important to keep your focus on the right thing. Our team goal was to keep our focus on God and not get carried away with all the hype. I think we accomplished that.”
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This story first appeared on BP Sports, the national sports news service of Baptist Press, at www.bpsports.net.
