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High school football players, survivors of Maui wildfires, are honored at Super Bowl

caption: FILE - The Lahainaluna High School football team hold hands to thank the fans after a game on Oct. 21, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Captains of the team whose town was destroyed by a deadly wildfire attended to Super Bowl in Las Vegas as guests of the NFL.
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FILE - The Lahainaluna High School football team hold hands to thank the fans after a game on Oct. 21, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Captains of the team whose town was destroyed by a deadly wildfire attended to Super Bowl in Las Vegas as guests of the NFL.
AP

High school football players took part in this year's Super Bowl as honorary captains during the pre-game coin toss, six months after a deadly wildfire destroyed their Maui hometown.

At the big game, four Lahainaluna High School football team members — Morgan "Bula" Montgomery, Teva Loft, Kaulana Tihada and Kuola Watson — were joined by their coaches Dean Rickard and Garret Tihada and former head coach Bobby Watson.

In August, the deadliest wildfire in recent U.S. history swept through the town of Lahaina, killing at least 100 people. More than 5,000 residents were displaced.

The NFL has pledged funding to help replace equipment for the high school football team and other local football programs.

"The Lahainaluna High School football team embodies the power of football to bring people together, even in the most challenging of circumstances," said NFL Senior Vice President of Social Responsibility Anna Isaacson, in a news release. "We are honored to have members of the Lahainaluna football team join us as coin toss captains at Super Bowl LVIII to recognize their incredible efforts in inspiring and rebuilding their community." [Copyright 2024 NPR]

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