Government steps-in to save New Jersey high school football team

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Lakewood High School football fans are cheering their local government.  The Lakewood Township Committee voted Thursday night to pay the $84,000 needed to keep the Lakewood Piners on the gridiron in 2017, according to the Asbury Park Press.

The season was in jeopardy because the school district was facing a huge budget deficit.  Originally, the district considered cutting all sports when faced with a $14.7 million shortfall, which has now been cut to $1.5 million thanks to cuts and an $8.5 million loan from the state.  That loan allowed the district to reinstate baseball, soccer and track,  however, that loan didn’t cover the football team, so that’s why the Lakewood Township Committee stepped-up to pay the $84,000 to keep the team playing.

Last year, Lakewood was 6-3, losing in the opening round of the South Jersey Group 3 playoffs.

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About the Author

Jeff Fisher
Jeff is an award-winning journalist and expert in the field of high school sports, underscored with his appearance on CNBC in 2010 to talk about the big business of high school football in America.Jeff turned to his passion for high school football into an entrepreneurial venture called High School Football America, a digital media company focused on producing original high school sports content for radio, television and the internet.Jeff is co-founder and editor-in-chief of High School Football America, a partner with NFL Play Football.