The 2025 season came to an end for the Manitowoc County Mariners in late June, or so they thought.
President, owner, and head coach Marcos Alfaro Sr tells SeehaferNews.com that a rare opportunity presented itself to blend their two passions, football and giving back to the community, that they just couldn’t pass up.
On Saturday afternoon, the Mariners play the Brown County Blackjacks of Green Bay in the “Fall Football Classic” at Rubick Field in Manitowoc.
“We had a chance to play one more game this year, and we figured, why not do so and help out a local family?” Alfaro explained. “The community’s been good to us for the last fifteen years, and since it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we thought, let’s take this opportunity to help raise some money for a local family.”
Minda Petersen lives in Two Rivers with her husband Zak and their five children.
She was diagnosed in April with invasive ductal carcinoma and has gone through six rounds of chemotherapy and a double mastectomy with expanders placed.
Her body recently rejected those expanders, and she recently had two more surgeries to remove them due to infections.
Alfaro says the Mariners understand how blessed they are to be able to play the sport they love and pay it forward whenever possible.
“Here with the Mariners, we want everyone to know that when you spend your hard-earned dollars to come support us, you’re also supporting all the hard-working people in the community,” he noted. “We strive to be good stewards of what we represent as an organization, including giving back every chance we get.”
People who live on the lakeshore constantly rally around each other to help in times of need, and Alfaro invites all to Rubick Field to rally around Minda and the Petersen family on Saturday.
“Whether it be the cancer patient or just supporting sports itself, Manitowoc County is a huge sports area, and people wholeheartedly support them,” he said. “You may even meet someone you know who plays for us (the Mariners.)”
All proceeds will go directly to the Peterson family.
Gates open at 2:30 p.m., with the kickoff scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
For more information, visit MarinersFootballLMC.com.
