On Thursday, March 24th, Naugatuck High School hosted its ninth annual Clash for the Cure Event to raise money for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

The Clash for the Cure event is a Student vs Faculty basketball game run by the DECA club at NHS. This event is open to all students and faculty at NHS, along with residents of the town. A total of 576 people were in attendance for the charity event and the DECA club raised a total of $3,202.75.

The DECA club has organized the Clash for the Cure Event for nine years now. While this year’s game did not have as many people in attendance in the past, DECA member Kyla Magalhaes was pleased with the event. Magalhaes stated, “We were able to raise over $3,000 for a good cause.”

In attendance at the game was Justin Dasilva, a fourteen year old boy suffering from cancer. Justin is currently a freshman at Woodland High School. At one point during the event, the game was stopped to give a round of applause for Justin and his tremendous fight against cancer.

Sadly, Naugatuck High School recently lost one of its best teachers, Mr. Aldrich. Aldrich was phenomenal teacher and person. He always put a smile on the students’ face and was fun to be around. A moment of silence was taken during the Clash for the Cure game as students, teachers, and residents of Naugatuck mourned the loss of one of our favorite teachers and citizens.

With emotions running high,both teams made the night as entertaining as possible. The Student vs Faculty game was a very competitive game. In a game that came down to the wire, the teachers hung on to win the game. A couple of questionable calls and scoreboard malfunctions sealed the win for the teachers. The teachers were lead by P.E. Teacher of the Year Mr. Loomis and history teacher Mr. Varanelli. The students were led by Andrea Mercer and Antoine Sistrunk. Mercer was the games leading scorer as she made five three pointers.

The 2016 Clash for the Cure game was yet another success for DECA. Like always, the game raised a lot of money for a great cause. The people at Naugatuck High School give their best wishes to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and all of their research and care. We also give our best wishes to Justin as he continues his fight against cancer.