Lake Forest College hosted Benny Watters Community Day at Farwell Field on Saturday. The event honors the football team's little brother Benny Watters, a Friends of Jaclyn adoptee, who passed away in 2010 from a brain tumor. Each year his loving personality, contagious laugh, and kindness are remembered and celebrated.
Prior to kickoff, five honorary captains joined the team captains Tim Finucane, R.J. Pompey, Tom Steen, and Joey Valdivia for the coin toss. These captains were Benny's mother and father, Lisa and Brendan Watters, and their children Lily and Sachin along with the football team's adoptee from Team Impact, Brannon Moran.
Throughout the game several fun activities were planned for families and children to participate in. Among them were a halftime musical inflatable chair contest for children and a giant photo booth Instagram frame that families could pose under with Boomer, the Foresters' mascot.
Click here to view great photos from these activities.
An exciting addition to this year's event was that F.A.N. Club members and community members were invited to join Director of Athletics Jackie Slaats at the Forester/F.A.N. Club tailgate pavilion for pre-game cheer, which included spirited giveaways and delicious Forester treats. The pavilion was decorated with pictures of Benny from his time as an honorary member of the football team. There was a great turnout of Forester fans at the tailgate and, with Benny's family in attendance, the event was both fun and meaningful!
The Lake Forest College football team capped off the day with a convincing 41-26 win over Macalester College. The team looks forward to hosting Knox College for Homecoming this Saturday at 2:00 p.m.