The Antioch High School football team will be holding its fifth annual golf tournament on Friday, Aug. 8 at Lone Tree Golf Course in an effort to raise money for the upcoming football season.

The football program, which finished in the red in the last fiscal year and recently regained a zero balance, is turning to the community to help provide its athletes with the opportunity to compete at the highest level.

With Schwarzenegger cutting funds and the economy struggling, we're looking for any way we can to raise funds, said assistant coach John O'Connor, who is coordinating this year's golf tournament. Since the government doesn't want to invest in these kids, we in the community have to make that investment. It takes about $30,000 to run a high school football team, and if we can take care of raising some money, then the football players can just focus on their grades and on playing ball.

First-year head coach Randy Autentico, who replaced Frank Beede after his two seasons on the sidelines, is confident that 2008 can be a special year for Antioch football. He's got a glut of explosively athletic players and an offense in place that will allow them to fully exploit that speed and athleticism. All that's missing is the funding to provide his players the equipment and training facility to maximize their potential.

The thing that we're trying to do is to utilize the talent that we have and put them in a position to be successful, said Autentico. We feel that if our team stays intact and we don't have any injuries, we'll have a very good season we'll be able to compete and do well.

Autentico and O'Connor aren't simply sticking their hand out in search of cash; they're turning to the community for emotional support too, and they're promising a return on that investment.

The thing that we'd like to do is have a program that this high school can be proud of and that this community can be proud of, Autentico said. We're in an older part of town, and we'd like to bring back some of the old Antioch fans who've been here for a while and who haven't been supporting the team. I guarantee you that if you come out, you're going to see an exciting brand of football.

For more information about the golf tournament or sponsorship opportunities, call O'Connor at 925-779-0483.

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