On January 31, 2025 at Fords Middle School, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students who paid an admission fee and had lower than 10 discipline points could attend the Blue and White Challenge. Faculty also joined in the fun.
There were two games held in the afternoon during Blocks 5 and 6. The first game was for the 6th and 7th graders. The teams were mixed and the students competed against one another, White team vs Blue team. The White team won. The second game was the 8th graders against the faculty. This was the best game that ended in a 45-45 tie.
Years ago at FMS, there was a student named Elias Stevens. He was sick and passed away in 2005 during his time at FMS. FMS started the Blue and White Challenge while Elias was battling cancer to raise money for his treatment and his family. Ever since Elias passed away, FMS has been hosting the Blue and White Challenge to raise money for the Elias Stevens scholarship fund.
Students who wanted to play on one of the teams could pay $10, which also bought a game day t-shirt. Spectators could pay $5 to watch the game in the bleachers that afternoon. There were snacks outside being sold by 7th grade math teacher, Mrs. Evangelista. All funds raised are donated to the Elias Stevens scholarship.
I played in the Blue and White game and it was fun and intense at the same time. I also played last year, which was loud and the energy was very high. The 8th grade game against the faculty this year was very intense. The faculty had a decent lead, but the 8th graders went on a run and it was all squared up. They could not go into overtime because in one minute, the bell would have rang for the students to go home. I interviewed Justin M, and he had this to say: ”If there was overtime and we would have to stay after school, I would go because it would be a close game.”
