Ashland Football raising money for Pacific Rim Bowl trip to Japan

ASHLAND, Ore.– The Ashland High School football team is starting to raise money for its trip to the Pacific Rim Bowl, this July.

The bi-annual game between Ashland and the Kansai Region of Japan, hasn’t been played since 2019 due to COVID.

Head Coach Beau Lehnerz said the team is just over halfway to its $120,000 goal, so it can fly to Japan to play the game.

Ashland football has been participating in the Pacific Rim Bowl since 1988.

Lehnerz said the significance of the Pacific Rim Bowl goes far beyond football.

Lehnerz said, “we just got the ok to go there this year in January, so we’re scrambling with the fundraising and organizing. We’re going to find a way to make it happen but it has been challenging.”

Lehnerz said the game allows students to travel and learn about a new culture.

He said the team goes to Hiroshima each time they make the trip to Japan.

The team is raising money through a GoFundMe, you can find a link here.

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NBC5 News reporter Derek Strom is from Renton, Washington. He recently graduated from the Edward R. Murrow College of Communications at Washington State University with a degree in Broadcast News and a minor in Sports Management. He played in the drumline with the WSU marching band. These days, he plays the guitar and piano. Derek is a devoted fan of the Mariners, Seahawks, and Kraken.
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