HAWTHORNE, Fla. – For the first time in Hawthorne Middle/High School history, the football team have two sets of helmets that will be used in the same season a surprise donation came from the Jacksonville Jaguars and Gatorade on Thursday afternoon in a special presentation to the football in the school gymnasium.
The Jacksonville Jaguars, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars Community Foundation and Jaguars PREP, donated 60 new all-white helmets to the Hornets’ program, which will allow the team to defend their Class 1R State Championship with more unique combinations of what uniforms will be able to be worn for the 2023 season. It is the first time that a whole set of new helmets will be made available to the team after years of helmets in the all-black shell have been upgraded and replaced along the way over the years.
SURPRISE! @Jaguars PREP along with @Gatorade surprised @HHS_Football352 with 60 new all-white helmets to the defending @FHSAA Class 1R State Champions to use for the upcoming 2023 season! #flhsfb @Adriel_Rocha @CIngram_85 @Coachadkinsd @DanLaForestFB @HSFBamerica @FACACoach… pic.twitter.com/oGTndHZ9Bq
— FloridaHSFootball.com (@FlaHSFootball) August 3, 2023
While the head coach Cornelius Ingram and athletic director Dustin Adkins knew about the donation, the team had no idea what was happening as they got pumped up inside the locker room after wrapping up their fourth day of practices which started on Monday. When the moment came for the team to emerge from the locker room into the gymnasium, the happiness and excitement of the team could not be contained.
Calen Rhinehardt, Youth Football Coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars, spoke to the team about what they were getting, which also included hydration solutions from Gatorade, along with about character, which Rhinehardt wanted to share with the athletes, reflecting on his time from playing high school football.
And while the athletes were certainly excited about everything, Ingram, a 2004 Hawthorne alum, was probably the most excited about donating the helmets, who never saw anything like this during his time playing for the Hornets in the early 2000s.
“This is huge!” Ingram expressed. “Not to make this a sad story, but we have struggled in the past with reconditing the helmets that we have. We normally wear black helmets, and sometimes it is hard to get every kid a brand new one, so to be blessed with 60 brand new white helmets, this is huge for our program and our community.”
What a great surprise for the defending Class 1R #FHSAA State Champions @HHS_Football352 ! Thank you @Jaguars and @Gatorade for all you do for our member schools! https://t.co/Sy8hsIXduD
— FHSAA (@FHSAA) August 3, 2023
For Adkins, who played with Ingram and is a 2005 alum of the school, also was excited about the helmet donation and had similar thoughts as Ingram did.
“It is very big, very impactful for our program. I graduated here in 2005 and played with Coach Ingram, Coach Bouie, the offensive coordinator, and Coach Q, they all played here. We never had two helmets anytime in our high school career, and that is something that has always been a little pipe dream almost,” Adkins said.
With helmets costing anywhere between $400 and $500 per helmet, the donation means a lot for the small-town program in the eastern fringes of Alachua County along U.S. Highway 301.
“We are talking about helmets being $500 per helmet, so we are talking about 60 today, so that is $30,000. Just being in a small rural town, there is not too many resources where you just pull $30,000 out of somewhere and pay for helmets. So, this is huge for our program,” Adkins said.
The joy seen by Ingram in his athletes and his coaches left him smiling all afternoon as the team took photos and shared the moment with some close friends and family of the athletes who joined in the surprise celebration.
“It brought a lot of joy, not only myself but a lot of these other coaches who have played here in our program, so we know the struggle. To be fortunate enough to have two helmets in one season is big for our kids. They definitely appreciate it because something like this has never happened, so we love the support the Jacksonville [Jaguars] organization has given us along with Gatorade. It is a special day in Hawthorne,” Ingram said.
The helmets will help Hawthorne gain more attention as they seek their second straight Class 1R state championship, especially in the day and age where flashy uniforms and new gear gets a lot of hype on social media.
“We are in the day and age where everybody wants to have all these uniforms and all these combinations. Just being able to add another helmet and see the kids excited, and at the end of the day, it is about the student-athletes and our kids. Just seeing the excitement on their face, I am more than appreciative for everything that is happening to us,” Adkins said.
As such the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Jacksonville Jaguars Community Foundation, and Jaguars PREP were excited about seeing everything happen for the Hawthorne program.
“We are excited to make an impact alongside our partner, Gatorade, for the Hawthorne High School Football Program. New Helmets are a much-needed equipment item to keep athletes safe,” said Adriel Rocha, Vice President of Community Impact and Football Development.
“Hawthorne was thrilled to hear they’d get white helmets as it’s something they’ve wanted to have for a while now, and to be able to grant that for a program that needs the resources was fulfilling,” Rocha said.
For Adkins, having the support of the Jacksonville Jaguars means a lot when reflecting that there are many programs in the region that could have also used the resources and support and they choose Hawthorne for this donation.
“It is world-class! There are some of these schools in Jacksonville and their local region that they could have reached out to and went and provided these resources, but to come all the way out to Hawthorne, drive an hour-and-a-half, do a ceremony, bring cheerleaders, bring representatives, we are very appreciative! We couldn’t pay them back! We can’t thank them enough,” Adkins said.
