When two members of the Napavine football team experienced unimaginable tragedy earlier this year, the Napavine Booster Club stepped up.
The organization has scheduled “Hunter & Hayden Night” for 6 to 10 p.m. Friday at the football field at Napavine high school.
Hayden and Hunter Lester are a part of the Napavine football team and have been dealing with the shooting death of their dad, Randy.
“The goal is just for Hunter and Hayden to have a night where they truly understand how much everybody cares about them,” Napavine booster club president Mary Rico said. “This whole community and Lewis County has come together to support this night. I hope they look back in a year, five years and say, ‘It was an incredible night and we know people care about us.’”
The night will raise money for Hunter and Hayden’s post-high school education, including a silent auction, a walkathon, face painting and a dunk tank sponsored by Lewis County Fire District 5, the Napavine Police Department and the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
Donations will be accepted for activities and food and beverages. Dutch Bros will be there with an energy bar and the booster club will be cooking up hamburgers and hot dogs. The Newaukum River Band is scheduled to play from 8 to 10 p.m., following the silent auction from 6 to 8 p.m. Among the items in the silent auction are Seahawks and Mariners tickets, gift certificates to Grocery Outlet and Applebee’s, a free month of Hydroworks underwater treadmill use at Pacific Sports Spa and more.
On the football field, Hayden is a senior on the offensive and defensive lines and the leader of those units.
“He’s a big part of what we’re trying to do, no doubt about that. He’s our lone lineman captain,” Napavine coach Josh Fay said. “He’s a very intelligent kid and obviously, he’s got a lot of good physical qualities to go with that. He’s our guy up front on both sides of the ball. We lean on his leadership and his experience up there, so big deal.”
Hayden is ready for Saturday’s opening game for the Tigers against Liberty at 10 a.m. in Cathlamet.
“(I’m) definitely really excited for Saturday, been looking forward to the first game of my last season so definitely something to look forward to,” Hayden said.
As the leader in the trenches, Hayden is looking forward to helping out his teammates and being the voice that helps guide Napavine.
“(I know) that I’m going to be a guy that my team is looking up to and knowing that I’m one of the leaders of the team and knowing that if anybody is struggling with something,” Hayden said. “I’m going to be one of the guys that they’re going to look to to help them as the season progresses.”
In his final season of prep football, he is trying to enjoy the sport more than he has in previous seasons.
“I’ve been enjoying it a lot more, two-a-days, believe it or not, don’t seem nearly as hard as they did years past,” Hayden said, of practicing twice in one day. “It might be just because I’m in better shape than I was before but this year, it’s definitely felt a lot better putting on the pads and it’s definitely kind of a daunting experience not knowing which might be my last time doing it just in terms of when our regular season ends and if we’re going to be that team that makes it into the playoffs and how far we make it into the playoffs.”
Hayden said he is looking forward to Friday night’s festivities.
“I think it’s going to be a lot of fun just for friends and family and the entire community to just come together and just celebrate everything that’s been going right and just to show love and support for me and my family,” Hayden said. “I’m really appreciative for it. I think it’s going to be a little bit of fun, definitely for all the community to see the fruits of their labors, stuff like that.”
The Napavine football team and the community have rallied around the family, and Fay hopes this night shows how much support the Lester family has in their time of need.
“The biggest goal out of this is just letting these guys know they’ve got a support network here and there’s a lot of people that care about them,” Fay said. “They’re going to do whatever they can to help that family out.”
The support means a lot to Hayden and the Lester family.
“It means quite a bit, knowing I’ve got an entire town behind my back,” Hayden said. “Just with everything that’s been going on and knowing that I’ve got my coaches support and my teammates support and everybody’s support in pretty much everything that’s been going on.”
