Page 49 - June 2017 Newsletter

MORE THAN A GAME CONTINUED FROM PAGE 47
The heat forced Pazan to the sideline for the second half. His replacement suffered a leg injury early in the third quarter, which made Slechter the next man up at quarterback.
Steve Holden’s tough running extended the lead to 21- 8, but CFD answered again on a 65-yard pass play to make it 21-16 heading into the final quarter. Less than two min- utes in, Rick Richardson intercepted a Blaze pass and lat- eraled to George Hickey, who scampered 50 yards for the first of his two defensive scores.
CFD trimmed the lead to 29-24 and got the ball back with just under three minutes to play, but Hickey stepped up again to snag a Blaze pass and return it for a pick- six. Tired and hot, the Enforcers sideline once again re- energized as Hickey found his way to the end zone to seal the eventual 37-24 win.
“George Hickey is a heck of a kid. He’s a heck of a po- liceman, too,” Zaragoza said before commenting on the total team effort needed to score the victory. “We had a lot of guys that had to go both ways. Just a lot of sacrifice on the guys’ part. You don’t control that. They decide they want to do it.”
Despite the win and a 3-1 record on the season, the En- forcers fell just short of their goal to reach a National Pub- lic Safety Football League championship game. But that didn’t diminish the meaningfulness of the victory or the day itself.
“The other element of it is the opportunity to give back,” Zaragoza said. “You don’t have to do much moti- vating sometimes, because this is what it’s all about.” d
Members of the Enforcers join with the CFD Blaze for a post-game prayer.
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JUNE 2017 49