Football was Mike Torrellas’ heart and soul. He also liked a good Turkey Bowl.
Unfortunately, the Hicksville Crusaders co-founder wasn’t able to witness the program’s inaugural event, which took place Saturday, Nov. 8.
Torrellas passed away suddenly last December due to a blood clot, but the spirit and drive of the man who wore the number 53 and tragically passed at that age still surrounds the Crusaders football program.
Tonia Torrellas along with Mike’s brother Kim, who helped create the program in 2002, has continued to run the program. While difficult at times, the Turkey Bowl is another nod to Mike and his work helping to grow the sport in the community.
“My brother-in-law put it best at one of our awards celebrations that was right after he died, he said, ‘Mike brought the whole league on, [Kim] did it with him, but he was our driving force and because of him we’ll continue.’ And we did that,” Tonia Torellas said.
Entering the event, each participant received a Buffalo Wild Wings jersey through the partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Hicksville. The kicking clinic run by former Maryland kicker and Crusaders alumni Nick Ferrara started the night. Those that wanted to participate got their chance to take several turns at kicking field goals.
Coach Mario Escobar thought it was a valuable experience for the kids that were currently taking field goals in their games or the younger ages that would be in the following seasons.
“We have a couple of kids who are on the 10-year-old team that do kick field goals. I think it was fun for them and fun for the younger boys. They will know what to expect next year,” he said.
Following the clinic, the 7 and 8 year olds played an intra-squad game, with the 5 and 6 year olds playing Oyster Bay and the 9 and 10 year olds playing Bellmore while the main event featured current senior Crusaders against alumni in a flag football game.
“We really want to make this a tradition,” Tonia said. “We’re really hoping this becomes an annual event.”
Escobar felt the same way saying, “I’m expecting this is going to continue 10 years from now. As I told the boys, ‘You’re the first Turkey Bowl players and 10 years from now after you’ve completed college, you’re going to see the younger guys in the 10th annual Turkey Bowl, which all started here.”
He hopes in future iterations, there is even more added to the event, with more clinics to see the ability of the players even more.
“I would like to implement a kick and pass clinic as well as the field goal clinic. I want some of our quarterbacks to see how far they can throw so I want to have a quarterback clinic and see if they can throw 30 or 40 yards,” he said. “Also not only the field goal, but a punt clinic.”
For one night at least, it was a chance to celebrate Mike Torellas’ vision and to enjoy playing under the lights.
“You can see the smiles on the boys faces. It was fantastic, it was a success,” Escobar said.
