EMERSON, N.J.—The rematch of the Emerson Mamaliers and Hillsdale Hawks is set for 11 a.m. on Nov. 29 at Emerson Jr./Sr. High School.
The ladies’ now annual flag football throwdown benefits Helping Hand Food Pantry at Hillsdale United Methodist Church, serving Emerson, Hillsdale, Oradell, Montvale, Washington Township, Westwood, and Woodcliff Lake; and a new food pantry at Emerson Bible Church.
Game organizers say they’d be thrilled if more towns joined in for a Pascack Valley tournament.
Admission is a non-perishable food donation. As each side is donating to its respective charity, this is a contest of generosity as well as points.
Hillsdale brought the heat in 2018’s inaugural game, 45–0, and the match converted an estimated $1,200 in donations.
“This is an amazing fundraiser, which generates a ton of food for families in need at the holidays,” said Emerson player Karen Oberg Borenius, a meditation and mindfulness coach.
Last year at this time she told Pascack Press most of the ladies involved had never played the game. Players have kids ranging in grade from preschool to high school to college.
The venue was the same, as was the entry fee: a non-perishable food donation. You can drop off donations without seeing the game (collection runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) but this is a grudge match to catch.
Needed are cake and brownie mix, boxed potatoes, canned fruit and vegetables, apple sauce, condiments, hot cereal, pancake mix, syrup, flour, sugar, oil, coffee, boxed milk, canned meat, meat sauce, jelly and juice, Jell-O and pudding, cookies and crackers, personal care items, paper products, and supermarket gift cards.
Borenius got the idea for the Black Friday game—“It’s a good time to play flag football”—from her sister-in-law, who participates in a similar event, The Rivalry Series, in South Jersey, supporting a variety of causes.
She said benefits beyond charity include keeping fit, making friends, and bonding with their children.
Borenius reached out to Irene Hancock of Hillsdale to see if she could field an opposing team.
“I said, Yeah, I’ll put a team together,” Hancock told Pascack Press.
Because her daughter was a toddler and the family wasn’t integrated into the school system yet, Hancock, who works full time in medical sales, filled out her roster through contacts at her gym and the Hillsdale moms’ softball team.
Among those coaching the Mamaliers are brothers Cole and Dylan DeMagistris, seniors at Emerson High School.
“They show up prepared every Sunday and train us moms. Not only are they super busy with their sports, school, and social lives but they still help us out,” Borenius said Nov. 21.
Hancock credited Hawks Coach Nick Pourakis “and the overall dedication of the ladies” for their win. She said she expected the Mamaliers to tap their loss to come back fighting.
She’s right: Borenius said she stopped keeping score when the Hawks racked up approximately 30 points.
“It was crazy. We thought it was going to be a nice game, a friendly game—and it was—but now we know that they’re intense. They brought a whole different level. So we’re prepared to match them,” she said.
Borenius said her daughter’s Daisy troop is going to cheer the team on and collect donations, which will help them earn a petal.
She said there are some new players on the Mamaliers’ side, as well as many returning to settle the score, and that Emerson will be selling pins and bracelets to raise funds for two women in town battling breast cancer.
This time around the battle will have announcers. And with the tradition now established, the moms said they hope to see the game pick up serious yardage as a Pascack Valley tournament.
Moms of Montvale, Park Ridge, River Vale, Township of Washington, Westwood, and Woodcliff Lake—are you game?
For more information on donating to the pantries or adding to a tournament, find the teams on Facebook or write karen@wellbeingsofnj.com.