Fair 52° F

Home > Archive > Mar 13, 2008

Former Rivals Unite for 'March Mayhem in the Desert'
By Cami Cox
Staff Writer
It will be mayhem on the basketball court on March 22 as an unprecedented event takes place in Southern Utah, with some very unlikely team members coming together to hoop it up for some worthy causes.
“This is a historical moment,” IMPACT of Southern Utah founder and president Ron Current said.
Current's organization, an advocacy program helping ex-gang members and those formerly involved with drug activity, will face off on the court against members of the St. George Fire Department. Rival basketball players from each Washington County School District high school will also team up against players from TEAM RAW (To Educated and Motivate the Ready and Willing), a local youth outreach program aiming to prevent and end gang and drug activity in Southern Utah.
“March Mayhem In the Desert” will be the name of the game, and local nonprofit group the School of Life Foundation will be the game’s sponsor. All proceeds from March Mayhem will benefit IMPACT, TEAM RAW and the Washington County Children's Justice Center.
“What we're trying to accomplish is bringing any organizations together that are involved with helping the young people and trying to connect, so we can develop synergy throughout Southern Utah,” School of Life Founder and President Jack Rolfe said. “Instead of everybody just doing their own thing – which is good, everybody's doing good things – we're going to work together and collaborate.”
The School of Life Foundation is a local effort to teach, train, motivate and inspire local youth through “Learn to 'School' Your Toughest Opponent,” a workbook the School of Life Foundation donates to schools and youth programs. Each of this year's March Mayhem recipient groups implements the School of Life materials in its programs.
March Mayhem will be a landmark happening on many levels, Rolfe said. First, it will be an opportunity for senior basketball players from Dixie, Pine View, Snow Canyon, Enterprise and Hurricane High schools to hit the court one last time before graduation. The catch: for March Mayhem, these boys all have to play ball on the same team.
“We have established an opportunity here for the seniors from the basketball teams in the five schools in Washington County to come together, and it's kind of their last hurrah,” Rolfe said. “It's also bringing all five of the high schools together – this is a unique event in and of itself just for that reason. That's going to be a fun thing from this point on for the seniors to look forward to. After their senior season has ended, they've got one more game. They can come together with the other seniors, the other schools.”
March Mayhem will also be a first for the basketball team from the SGFD as they square off with some tough customers on the IMPACT team, former gang members and drug users who have since cleaned up their lives. No longer opposing public servants on the street, the IMPACT men will now oppose them on the court.
In addition to the featured exhibition games between the youth teams and the adult teams, there will be halftime entertainment provided by Diamond Talent Productions, and concessions will be sold by Hungry Howie's Pizza, with a portion of those proceeds going toward the nonprofit groups.
Some big talent will also be on hand to announce the games at March Mayhem: Dixie State College sports announcer Ed Rogers and former Washington Red Skins quarterback and Super Bowl winner Jay Schroeder. Schroeder now lives in the St. George area and helped coach the Snow Canyon football team this past year, Rolfe said. Schroeder is also involved with the IMPACT group.
The School of Life Foundation will additionally have a drawing at March Mayhem for an ATV donated by Stephen Wade Power Sports. Anyone can enter the drawing, but donations are encouraged, as the proceeds will also help TEAM RAW, IMPACT and the Children's Justice Center. Tickets for the ATV drawing can be acquired online at www.schooloflifefoundation.com or at Stephen Wade Power Sports, 1295 E. Red Hills Parkway, prior to the event. The winner will be announced during March Mayhem.
March Mayhem in the Desert will take place March 22 at Snow Canyon High School, 1385 N. Lava Flow Dr. in St. George. Game one, the Washington County High School All-Stars against Team Tragedy (the group from TEAM RAW) will begin at 11:30 a.m. Game two, the St. George Fire Department All-Stars against Men from the Hood (the IMPACT team) will begin at 1 p.m.
Tickets for March Mayhem in the Desert can be purchased at the door and are $2 per person or $5 per family.

---