This Friday night, August 24, the Sun Prairie football team will host their first annual First Responders Night, dubbing it "Pack The Pit" and offering free admission for all fans while providing several ways to donate to the Sun Prairie disaster relief fund.
On July 10, a gas line explosion took the life of a Sun Prairie firefighter and business owner, Cory Barr, and devastated a section of downtown Sun Prairie. The football team, and Sun Prairie high school, has been involved throughout the response, including the use of the high school as a staging area and now First Responders Night this week.
Sun Prairie football assistant coach Kevin Konopacki, who has a son, Owen, who plays for the Cardinals, also handled the media requests in the aftermath of the explosion, and describes his unique role as a member of the Sun Prairie Police Department and coach on the football team and how the event came to be, off of a suggestion and hard work by head coach Brian Kaminski.
If you can't make the game and still want to help out, you can find out more information about how to donate to the Sun Prairie disaster relief fund by going here. This page also contains more information related to July's explosion and where things stand in terms of impacted businesses and areas that are still being repaired.
Here is Sun Prairie Police Department Lieutenant Kevin Konopacki discussing Pack The Pit on August 24: