Local football team prepares for international trip

ASHLAND, Ore.– The Ashland High School football team is heading to Japan this weekend for the first Pacific Rim Bowl since 2019.

Head Coach Beau Lehnerz said they raised around $130,000 in total for the trip.

Ashland High School has been participating in the bi-annual game since 1988.

Lehnerz said he wants to do everything he can to keep the tradition going.

“If there’s a chance, we’re going to keep this thing going. It’s too important,” Lehnerz said, “there’s been so many people that have come before us that laid the foundation on both sides, in Ashland and Japan. All of us in both contingencies were like’ we’re going to do whatever it takes to make this happen.'”

Lehnerz said the team has been practicing for weeks in preparation for the game.

He expects the game to be highly competitive, since the all-time series it tied at eight wins apiece.

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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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