Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: John Segale 916.600.1081

Battle for Veterans Announces 2012 Schedule

Keeping “The Cause” in Front of the Games

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (December 15, 2011) – In its short history, the Battle for Veterans (formerly the Battle at the Capital), has earned a national reputation for attracting some of America’s top high school football programs to kick-off the high school football season. In 2012, the Battle for Veterans has done it again with a new expanded format that will include games in both Northern and Southern California.

Most important is the cause for the football get-together – to support and financially assist wounded veterans and their families – remains the same. Events are planned at both football venues to keep wounded veterans in the minds of all those both privileged to participate and attend the bowl game-like atmosphere. Battle for Veterans represents an opportunity for the community to come together in support of those who have served and need our help.

The line-up for the 2012 Battle for Veterans Football Festival has been finalized and it may be the greatest collection of talent yet. Mark your calendar and make plans to be available August 29^th through September 5^th to watch the action and support the cause. Teams are still being announced, but here is the preliminary lineup:

WEEK ZERO: Northern California

August 23-25, 2012 - Del Oro High School, Loomis, CA.

Thursday, August 23 Evening of Honor

Friday, August 24 Battle of the Badges, Placer County Sherriff vs. Nevada County Sheriff

Del Oro Golden Eagles (13-1) versus Oaks Christian Lions (11-3)

Saturday, August 25 Franklin Wildcats (8-4) versus Thousand Oaks Lancers (8-5)

Granite Bay Grizzlies (12-2) versus Westlake Warriors (14-0)

WEEK ONE: Southern California

August 30 – Sept. 1 Westlake High School, Westlake Village, Ca.

Thursday, August 30 Evening of Honor

Friday, August 31 Oakdale Mustangs (13-1) versus Oceanside Pirates (9-3-1)

Westlake Warriors (14-0) versus Del Oro Golden Eagles (13-1)

(This is a rematch of last year’s overtime Battle at the Capital Game)

Saturday, Sept 1 Upland Highlanders (12-1) versus Windsor Jaguars (15-0)

Granite Bay Grizzlies (12-2) versus Oaks Christian Lions (11-3)

Participants in the 2011 Battle for Veterans included Westlake which is facing off against De La Salle in the CIF State High School Open Championship game on Saturday night; and Del Oro which will be competing against Helix in the Division 3 Championship game in Carson, California.

For more information, visit www.BattleforVeterans.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: John Segale (916)600-1081

PARTICIPANTS IN 2011 BATTLE AT THE CAPITAL CONTINUE RUN FOR STATE FOOTBALL TITLE

Popular Labor Day Competition Announces Big Changes for 2012

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (November 21, 2011) -- Call it karma, call it the blessings that come from giving back or call it fundraising with benefits. If your high school football team competed in the Battle at the Capital this past September, chances are your team not only qualified for the playoffs but is still competing for a state title. That is the situation this week for football powers Pleasant Grove, Lincoln of Stockton, Del Oro, Westlake and Highlands High Schools.

With such an impressive line-up of high school talent, what are the Battle plans for 2012? Bigger, better and beyond!

Not only will great teams representing schools throughout California continue to compete, but the format will be expanded to add a Southern California venue. The first week (zero week of the football schedule) will be played for the third consecutive year at Del Oro High School, Loomis, CA. The second week (week one of the football schedule) will be played in the south state at Westlake High School, Westlake Village, CA. Teams already committed for both weeks include perennial powers Oaks Christian, Westlake, Del Oro and Granite Bay – with more can’t miss matchups to be announced soon.

To kick-off both events – plans are in place for the annual Evening of Honor Dinner. Last year’s event was extremely popular and featured Nick Popaditch, the Marine who pulled down Saddam’s statue with his tank, as the keynote speaker. The dinner venues and speakers for 2012 will make this an amazing evening that your team will never forget.

With this year’s success comes growth. The Battle at the Capital is moving to a new headquarters, acquiring a new name, new logo, and a new website address. The Battle at the Capital is officially changing its name to Battle for Veterans effective now. Our new location is: 925 Highland Pointe Drive #120, Roseville, CA. 95678. For more information about the 2012 Battle for Veterans visit our website at: www.battleforveterans.org.

NPR : Wounded Marines Fight Second Battle At Home

http://www.npr.org/2011/08/06/138983146/at-home-wounded-marines-fight-their-second-battle

The blitz is on for the BattleSoto takes Del Oro’s military-inspired week personally as third annual event ramps up

By Todd Mordhorst Journal Sports Editor

Michael Kirby/Auburn Journal

Mark Soto is in the mortgage business, spent countless days over the past 15 years as a football coach and is now putting in long hours to prepare for the Battle at the Capital football festivities in Loomis on Labor Day weekend.

His most unlikely role — documentary film maker — is now drawing national attention to his cause.

Soto is aiming to raise $250,000 for Wounded Warriors, a non-profit organization that benefits wounded military personnel and their families. A high school football extravaganza at Del Oro High is the main event. But the football-filled weekend is getting a boost from Soto’s hour-long video called “The Day Remembered.”

Del Oro football coach Casey Taylor linked up with Soto last year and their shared passion for supporting veterans made them quick friends. Soto is the father of Corporal Joshua in the Marines and Sergeant Benjamin in the Army. His son-in-law Nick Brown is a Gunnery Sergeant in the Marines. Taylor’s father served in Vietnam.

Soto agreed to take the reins of Battle at the Capital this year with the promise that all proceeds from the event would go to Wounded Warriors. The man with a constant smile and boundless energy is doing his part to make the event an unprecedented success.

“I love it. I feel like I’m giving something back,” Soto said. “We’ve had some unbelievable stories. The director of football operations at Westlake (which will play Del Oro in the headliner game Sept. 3) called me and said, ‘Coach, we want to be a part of this thing.’ He just lost his son last year in Afghanistan. I put him in touch with (Taylor) and now we have two of the best programs in California playing each other.”

Earlier this year, Soto set out to make a couple of short videos to promote Battle at the Capital with some soldiers at the Balboa Naval Hospital in southern California. After talking with a handful of injured veterans, Soto wound up with hours of compelling material that brings the realities of war into perspective.
“We taped their stories and started compiling the information and realized we had much more than little video snippets,” said Soto, who has been an assistant coach at Granite Bay and Del Oro. “We realized we had stories of marines injured in battle, recovering from wounds and dealing with amputations. Two years ago they were varsity football players and now they’re sitting there with one arm because they were fighting for our freedom.”

“The Day Remembered” is now available at the Battle at the Capital website and national media is taking interest. The San Diego Union Tribune ran a front-page story on the wounded veterans and their involvement in the film. On Wednesday, Soto was interviewed for a story that will air on National Public Radio in the coming weeks.

Soto said the film has projected Battle at the Capital to more than just a weekend of great competition.

“It’s not just about Del Oro and football anymore,” he said. “People see the cause and they’re getting behind it. Athletes love playing for a cause. Parents like that they’re paying for a good cause. It’s snowballing. Every day I have sponsors calling to be a part of it. It’s become that big.”

Soto is already lining up the schedule for the 2012 Battle at the Capital, which he said will take place in southern California. He promises there will be some football powerhouses involved.

For more information, or to purchase, “The Day Remembered,” check out www.battleatthecapital.com.

June 02, 2011 11:00 ET

Football Coach Releases Powerful Video Documentary About Wounded Marines

Marketwire Press Release

Click here: http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Football-Coach-Releases-Powerful-Video-Documentary-About-Wounded-Marines-1522038.htm

Hometown Report: Pleasant Grove lineman is nation's top prep prospect.

Sports - High School Sports - Pleasant Grove High School, By Joe Davidson, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Arik Armstead is 6-foot-8 and 280 lean and mean pounds.

He buckles defensive ends, folds linebackers in half and rumbles downfield in search of someone else to smother, prompting mothers of opposing players to mutter, "It's not fair a kid that big can run that fast."Away from competition, there isn't a sour bone in the young man's body. Armstead booms with good cheer as he towers above classmates at Pleasant Grove High School, his humility not affected by his emerging status as a major national college football recruit.

Monday, Armstead learned he is rated the No. 1 prep prospect in the country heading into this fall, which will be his senior season, by Scout.com and 247sports.com. Armstead sounds humbled and motivated by the news."It's definitely a big honor, but I know I have to keep working hard, keep getting better and show I'm worthy of this," said Armstead, who carries a 3.5 grade-point average.

Armstead recently completed a whirlwind weekend that included:

Slithering and powering down the lane in Southern California all-star basketball events. He hit jumpers, played above the rim, ran the floor and had recruiters convinced he could fetch up to 20 scholarship offers in that sport.
A visit with his brother and idol, Armond, at USC, where Armond will be a senior defensive tackle this fall. Armond was cleared to resume noncontact football drills after he was hospitalized in March to undergo tests. Young A was delighted to see Elder A cheerful and back in the mix. Arik, who gave USC a verbal commitment, has offers from football powers across the country, including Alabama, Auburn, Florida and Notre Dame.
Graciously talking sports and education with fans who suddenly recognize him at the airport.

This region has had top overall prospects, but never a lineman. Kevin Willhite of Cordova was the top prep in the land in 1981. A tailback, he was named National Player of the Year and subsequently started four seasons at Oregon. Randy Fasani of Del Oro in 1996 was the country's No. 1 talent, a quarterback who signed with Stanford.Like those two, Armstead's celebrity goes beyond football, and he embraces his role of leader and student."Arik is a top-notch young man in every sense of the word," Pleasant Grove coach Joe Cattolico said.

Del Oro to host football showcase

By Mike Ray Gold Country News Service

The 2011 "Battle at the Capital" hosted by Del Oro High this September will be more than your usual prep football showcase.

In fact, when the week-long event comes to a conclusion, a total of 18 high school football teams, four youth squads and two law enforcement agencies will have snapped down their chin straps and lined up against each other.

Slated for the weekend of Sept. 2-3-4, this year’s program will actually get going on Monday, Aug. 29 with a "Wounded Warrior" golf tournament kicking things off at Lincoln Hills Country Club.

"This year’s line-up is basically a week of honor with scheduled events ranging from the golf tournament to the football games," said event director Mark Soto. "A significant amount of the funds that we generate will be going back to wounded veterans in rehabilitation and recovery."

The football portion of the "Battle" will start on Friday, Sept. 2 with Del Oro High’s frosh and JV squads playing host to Westlake of Westlake Village in Ventura County. Friday’s feature varsity game at Del Oro will pit Leland High of San Jose, the alma mater of late former NFL star Pat Tillman, meeting Highlands in what is being called the "Pat Tillman Memorial" game.

In addition to the activities at Del Oro on Friday, Leland’s JV team will play at Highlands and Scotts Valley’s JVs, from Santa Cruz County, will play at Capital Christian.

On Saturday, four varsity games will be contested at Del Oro. At 11 a.m., Scotts Valley will meet Capital Christian. That will be followed at 2 p.m. with Bear River tangling with Proctor Hug of Reno.

The two final prep games at Del Oro on Saturday are both very attractive early season match-ups.

At 5 p.m., Pleasant Grove of Elk Grove, featuring national Div. I recruit

Arik Armstead and Sacramento area "Offensive Player of the Year" Mark Jenkins who rushed for over 2,700 yards and scored 41 touchdowns in 2010, will tackle Lincoln of Stockton in a rematch of a pair of epic games from last season which saw Pleasant Grove prevail, 28-21, and 10-6.

The feature game on Saturday will then pair defending CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Div. III champion Del Oro against perennial CIF Southern Section power Westlake of Ventura County.

Westlake went 12-2 in 2010 and fell to nationally-ranked Oaks Christian, 29-28, in the CIF championship game. Coached by Jim Benkert, the Westlake program has turned out over 30 Div. I players since 1999.

"We’re excited to be coming up there." Benkert said. "It looks like Del Oro has a fine program and we’re happy to be bringing all three of our teams."

The "Battle" activities will conclude on Sunday with youth football games featuring Del Campo, Granite Bay, Grant and Roseville. The showcase then will end with a Badge vs. Badge Memorial game pitting law enforcement officers of Placer County taking on Nevada County.

PRESS RELEASE – Revised by: Mark “Coach” Soto

September 11, 2011 will be the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. The Battle at the Capital is organizing a special week of athletic competition honoring those who lost their lives and have been wounded in the battlefield defending our freedom. On Labor Day weekend 2011 the 2nd annual Battle of the Capital will take place with proceeds directly benefiting the Wounded Warriors. Our slogan comes direct from a bunker in Afghanistan …“they fought for our freedom, let’s play in their honor”. Last year was a thank you. This year’s lineup is a week of honor with the scheduled events donating a significant amount of the gate back to wounded veterans in rehabilitation and recovery after being wounded in battle. We are calling it “Battle Week”!

The mission is to ensure awareness of American Veteran sacrifices through athletic competition that fosters a unified admiration of our country. The Battle Week core values are about fun, competition, allegiance, respect, service, and patriotism.

Battle Week begins with a golf tournament on Monday, August 29th at Lincoln Hills Golf Club. “Mark your calendar” says Tim J. Hovancsek, Master PGA Professional with LPGA tournament experience, “this is a can’t miss event” featuring officials and participants from all branches of the United States Military plus a special celebrity guest or two. The golf event will showcase a finale matching each branch of the military in a fun-filled, spectator rewarding, 4-hole playoff. We are calling it the “Battle of the Forces”! The day’s event will conclude with an Evening of Honor – a special dinner featuring motivational guest speakers along with a one of a kind wounded warrior documentary.

But wait, the week gets better! The Battle continues on September 2nd - the Westlake Warriors ranked #11 in the State are bringing their entire entourage to take on the Del Oro High School Eagles – Division III Champions in 2010. The Pleasant Grove Eagles with the nation’s top 10 recruit Arik Armstead & Mark Jenkins (Sac Bee’s all Metro player of the year) will face off against the Lincoln of Stockton Trojans. This this is the long awaited rematch game. The Leland Chargers of San Jose open Friday night. The Chargers home field carries a special name: Pat Tillman Stadium. Leland matches up against Highlands Scots.

Other matchups include: Capital Christian Cougars versus Scotts Valley Falcons, Bear River Bruins versus Reno’s Hug Hawks.

2011 Battle at the Capital will also feature 2 USA Midget level football games feature four teams – Del Campo versus Roseville and Grant versus Granite Bay. As well as the resurgence of The Memorial “Battle of the Badges” Football Game featuring a competition between the Nevada County Sheriff and the Placer County Sheriff! This all ends with an Evening of Celebration.

Come join in the celebration and pay a special tribute to those who are defending your freedom, watch the special tribute flyover, the helicopter demonstration, and a fireworks show like no other. This is everyone’s opportunity to show respect and give back. Remember, they fought for our freedom, let’s play in their honor!!

You don’t want to miss this special Battle Week event. For more event info or sponsorship information please visit www.battleatthecapital.com or call Coach Soto at (916) 532-3514.