Southeast Missouri State football players, local police team up for Backstoppers benefit

Jackson police chief James Humphreys enjoyed getting to be a different kind of serious.

Humphreys put on his game face a few times Thursday night while he served as the coach of the red team at the Cops and Hawks Bowl, a flag-football tournament combining local law enforcement and the Southeast Missouri State football team, but other than that, it was all fun while raising money for Backstoppers, an organization that provides assistance for families of fallen first responders.

“I thought it was awesome,” Humphreys said. “Great time. Great time to come together and just laugh, have fun, and it’s for a great cause. And for once, you don’t have to be serious, you know? I really, really enjoyed it and was so glad that I was asked to be a part of it.”

The event, which was held at Houck Stadium, was planned in a matter of about a week and a half.

Southeast coach Tom Matukewicz reached out to members of his team’s leadership council after seeing the news of officers being shot in Dallas and other shootings involving police across the country.

Dante Vandeven drops back for a pass Thursday during the Cops and Hawks Bowl at Houck Stadium. The event was a fundraiser for the family members of those who have lost their lives in the line of duty.Glenn Landberg

Quarterback Dante Vandeven lightheartedly offered up the idea for a flag-football game pitting the Redhawks against cops. Matukewicz ran with the idea, reaching out to the Cape Girardeau Police Department on Twitter before the plan came to fruition.

The four teams — red, white, black and gold — mixed law enforcement and Southeast players.

“It’s extremely important for us to come together in an event where everyone can just be their selves, relax and intermingle with each other — all ages, law enforcement, students, athletes,” Humphreys said. “Great combination. I think that was the best part of the whole thing, just being able to come together.”

The teams each competed in two 25-minute running clock games. The white team came from behind to defeat the gold team for the championship.

“A championship’s always nice,” Cape Girardeau patrolman Aaron Bennett said with a laugh. “The camaraderie, everyone kind of coming together, that was really cool.”

Celebrating with his teammates and their law-enforcement counterparts after scoring was a highlight for Vandeven.

“I throw touchdowns to these guys in practice, and we get excited with each other,” Vandeven said, “but to really see all of us football players get excited with the cops because they were in the end zone, we’re hooting and hollering, I really think that’s a shining moment. That was overwhelming for me, definitely.”

The event, which was sponsored by First State Community Bank, was free, but donations were accepted to benefit Backstoppers.

Members of other Southeast athletic teams wandered around the stands, handing out free posters and collecting donations.

T-shirts also were sold, with proceeds going to Backstoppers.

There was an announced crowd of 646.

“We had a good showing tonight, and we get to interact with players who might have a bad idea or not agree with what police officers are or what they stand for,” Bennett said. “This kind of shows them that we’re people, too. We’re not out there to make your day worse. We’re actually here to help you, and also there’s a fun side of it, too. We can come out here and have fun with you.”

Matukewicz said he enjoyed watching his players introduce themselves to their new teammates for the night before to the games got underway and considered the event a success.

“I thought it was awesome,” Matukewicz said. “I thought there was a lot of energy, a lot of interaction. I saw some high-fives. [But] I almost vomited in my drink when I saw all the interceptions.”

It was an eye-opening experience for the Redhawks and a perfect opportunity to get acquainted with local law enforcement in a friendly environment, Vandeven said.

“I know for a fact we understand law-enforcement better,” Vandeven said. “We definitely have a relationship with some law enforcement now, and I think a lot of people are going to think differently about cops. Not only just us football players, but the community and everybody that came out, people that will see it across the nation.”