Fire Bowl II to help families in need

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The Fire Bowl – a unique flag football game featuring firefighters from Johnson and North Providence that made its debut last year and helped put food on the tables of people in need at Thanksgiving and Christmas – will return next week.

Kick off for Fire Bowl II is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 19, at the recently named Mayor Joseph M. Polisena Stadium adjacent to Johnston High School.

The announcement of the game, which will again benefit the Tri-Town Community Action Agency’s Food Cupboard, came late Tuesday morning when North Providence Mayor Charles Lombardi walked into Johnston Town Hall with a packaged sponge and told Mayor Joseph Polisena: “The bet is on. This is for you when you wash my car, again, next year.”

Lombardi and Polisena – along with the game’s co-founders, firefighters Dave Pingitore of Johnston and Anthony Rampone of North Providence – enjoyed some good-natured ribbing.

“Joe, keep that sponge in a safe place,” Lombardi said.

To which Polisena countered: “I’ll do just that, mayor. I’ll have it ready when you wash my car next year.”

Admission to the game is free, and Polisena said organizers are asking attendees to bring at least two non-perishable food items.

“With the holidays coming up, there are some people in need that we all hope will have happy Thanksgiving and a merry Christmas,” he said. “We hope we can break last year’s record food and monetary collection, as well.”

Last year’s inaugural Fire Bowl, which came about as the result of the friendship between Pingitore and Rampone, raised upwards of $1,500 and collected more than 500 pounds of non-perishable food items that, as Polisena noted, “filled the entire back end of Rescue 4.”

And to get donations moving, Polisena and Lombardi announced they’re both giving $200 to the cause.

“We have to applaud both fire departments,” Lombardi began. “This is such a great event that will help such a great cause.”

“We’re asking people in both towns – and all over the state, for that matter – to come out and have a night of fun and help others in need,” Polisena said. “Please, bring a couple of canned goods or other non-perishable foods and helps us surpass last year’s food and money collection.”

The Johnston mayor, who said he’s confident his town’s firefighters will avenge last year’s 7-0 loss, continued: “This is the time of year when organizations like Tri-Town need our help. We’re even expecting food and monetary donations from neighboring fire departments and other groups.”

Gates for the game will open at 5:30 p.m., and firefighters will be on hand to collect food and monetary donations.

Pingitore, who played his high school football at Bishop Hendricken, is the Johnston Fire Fighters Local 1950 head coach, and Polisena announced Tuesday that “my guys will again wear red jerseys for the game.”

Lombardi, meanwhile, countered: “Hey, my [North Providence Fire Fighters Local 2334 players] will be in their lucky blue jerseys. Coach [Anthony] Rampone and I don’t want to break our winning tradition.”

Pingitore, meanwhile, offered: “The North Providence Fire Fighters Local 2334 is a group of phenomenally professionals. We think of them as our brothers and sisters. They beat us last year, but our team has been working had this year to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

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