It will be a sad opening to the 2011 high school football season in Fairmont.
Recent East Fairmont graduate, and valedictorian, Jacob Bower, 18, died last month during a training exercise at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in New York. Bower starred on the Bees’ football team and will be remembered with a special tribute during the team’s home opener.
East Fairmont and cross-town rival Fairmont Senior will both hold “Blackouts” at their first home games later this month. Students and fans will wear black t-shirts featuring Bower’s No. 88 on the front and a quote from his graduation speech on the back. The Bees open against Elkins on Thursday, August 25th while the Polar Bears play Robert C. Byrd on the following night.
The $10 t-shirts will benefit the Bower Power Scholarship Fund created by his parents. So far, more than 900 have been sold and more than $10,000 has been collected for the scholarship through t-shirt sales, ribbon sales at West Point and a memorial softball tournament.
To learn more about the Bower Power Scholarship and how you can buy a t-shirt visit this special Facebook page.