ROCKINGHAM — Two weeks after the Richmond Senior High School football program won the “Wear It Like A Pro” contest hosted by the Carolina Panthers and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, the Raiders had a surprise visitor waiting for them at Tuesday’s practice.
Efe Obada, a second-year defensive end for the Panthers, arrived at Richmond’s practice fields to congratulate the Raiders and the community for winning the contest. Held for six weeks, the competition was a collaborative effort between the NFL team and Blue Cross Blue Shield to encourage player safety.
Richmond County backed its football team, voting hundreds of thousands of times to secure the Raiders’ win. As a reward, head coach Bryan Till and the program of roughly 150 players received 24 brand new Riddell SpeedFlex helmets, a style of helmet worn by NFL players and one of the highest safety-rated helmets in football.
Till explained he received an email over the weekend from the Panthers’ front office about the team wanting to send Obada to campus to congratulate the players. Nick Kusko, an account manager with the Charlotte-based team, informed Till “it would be a surprise.”
“This is a memory our players will take with them many years from now, especially the guys who got to interact directly,” Till shared of the experience. “They will come back to reunions and relive it and tell their kids about it.
“They were somewhat starstruck at first, but as it sunk in, they were really excited,” he added.
An extra 10 minutes were built into practice, allowing for Obada to speak to the team and present Till with a congratulatory helmet. Once he received the new lid, which runs at a price of $409.99, Till was swarmed by the varsity team in an uproar of cheers. Representing the Panthers was Tom DeFelice, the team’s partnership sales executive, and Burt Jenkins was a representative for Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Following the presentation, the Raiders “tried to keep the normal routine of practice,” as Obada walked from position group to position group meeting and talking with players. Till and junior quarterback Caleb Hood also met with the Panthers’ media staff for videos to discuss the “impact of the helmets for us as a program.”
It was not just a team affair, with Richmond head principal Jim Butler and several office staff members coming out to celebrate in the meet-and-greet.
“Great day at RSHS,” Butler tweeted along with a photo of Obada and assistant principal Wendy Wallace, among others. “The Panthers represented by Efe Obada came to practice to surprise the team about the new helmets.
“Mr. Obada was awesome taking pics with the team and watching practice,” he added.
Chad Suggs, who was instrumental in pushing the voting on the Raiders’ social media platforms, was also in attendance from his office in Greenville, S.C.
“Exciting day for Richmond football and all of Richmond County,” he wrote on his business’ Instagram page with a photo of him and a smiling Obada.”
Till said the exciting afternoon will have “little bearing” on Richmond’s game on Friday, which will see the No. 1 Raiders host No. 29 Seventy-First High School. It’s senior night and breast cancer awareness night, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.
