Thursday night, the fundraiser came to the Nutter Center as Donlon and a team of former Raider players and area coaches defeated former Ohio State football players 107-85 in front of an energetic crowd of 90.
Donlon was joined by former Raiders Troy Tabler, John David Gardner, Drew Burleson and Will Graham as well as Bellbrook girls basketball coach Jason Tincher and assistant Nicole Baptiste Sam and Fairborn boys basketball coach Nathan Chivington.
For Chivington’s brother, Aaron, also a former standout at Miami East, the cause hit home.
Aaron Chivington was born with a cleft and a crooked nose that required numerous surgeries beginning when he was 7.
“It was an absolute honor to be a part of this,” Chivington said. “There are so many kids this effects, and it is helping lives. It is providing hope, not just for the kids but their parents.”
According to Operation Smile, every three minutes a child is born with a cleft, and one in 10 don’t see their first birthday. In 2011, the foundation funded 164 missions to 124 sites in 80 countries, offering more than 300,000 hours of free medical care.
“It is always nice to give back,” former Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman said after being joined by Stanley Jackson, Andy Groom, Branden Joe, Roy Hall, Michael Wiley and Andy Katzenmoyer for the Buckeyes. “Growing up, I looked up to Ohio State athletes, and now being a former player, it is so fulfilling and so nice to go out and give back.”
While the game featured more smiles and laughs between the two teams than dunks, Boekman says the competitive juices still flow when they get into action.
“We’re still slower, but we are still competitive,” Boeckman said.
Donlon showed his current players in the stands that he still has game in what he hopes will become an annual event.
“I really didn’t want to hear it at workouts,” Donlon said. “The competitive spirit never dies in an athlete. I think this can become a great event.”
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