Due to the government shutdown, the Department of Defense suspended sports competitions at military academies. That means this weekend’s homecoming football game with Army against Boston College was in jeopardy.
Paul Gaughan was featured on WNEP’s Super 16 Dream Team for his efforts playing football for the Dunmore Bucks during his senior year back in 2010.
The star athlete now plays football for Boston College.
His mother, Patricia Brennan, still lives in Dunmore, and her pride couldn’t be more obvious.
“He has worked so hard and he has really proved himself to be a viable player and a wonderful student, it’s just incredible, the whole experience from the offers to the recruiting, to getting him up there was just an amazing ride,” said Brennan.
She herself is riding up to Boston for the college’s homecoming game against Army this weekend.
However, her big plans were up in the air due the government shutdown as the Department of Defense suspended sports competitions at military academies.
However, late Wednesday night the secretary of defense gave the okay to the service academies playing their football games this weekend.
That means the Army-Boston college game and Air Force versus Navy will be played as planned.
If the game was postponed it would have been the second time a major national event has disrupted the football season this year.
After the bombings during the Boston Marathon in April, the college went on lockdown, and the team’s annual Spring Game the following day was cancelled.
Still in light of the tragic event, football wasn’t what was on her mind that day.
“I was frantic, I just drove up there the next weekend as soon as everything was opened up just to put my arms around him, it was so frightening that he was so close to such terror,” said Brennan.
