The police department put out the fire department’s flag football fire for the very first time.
Police officers and firefighters from the Verde Valley area took their rivalry to the Mingus Union High School football field Friday, Aug. 3, for the fifth annual Guns vs. Hoses game, a fundraiser for the MUHS football team.
“This game has grown every year, and we raise around $1,000 for the team every year,” Candi Yatsinko said.
Yatsinko coordinates the game every year with Cottonwood Police Department Sgt. Kevin Murie and Cottonwood Fire Department Capt. Rick Contreras.
The firefighters have taken the Guns vs. Hoses trophy that reads, “He who holds this, hold it dear. Ownership could transfer next year,” every year since the tradition began. Yet, this year, ownership did transfer when the Guns beat the Hoses 40 to 38 at the fourth-quarter buzzer.
The game had a friendly rivalry atmosphere as the announcer was a cop himself and the on-duty firefighters parked their fire engines by the end zone and flashed their lights and turned their sirens on whenever the Hoses scored. Yet that friendly rivalry turned serious among the players when the first ball was snapped.
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, Aug. 8, issue of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
