<b>By BOB SOFALY</b>

It was Beaufort County first responders taking on the students of St. Peter’s Catholic Elementary School for the epic third annual Heroes vs. Cardinals Kickball Game on Tuesday, Jan. 28, at the school’s soccer field.

The game was in conjunction with National Catholic Schools Week.

The contest was started as an idea to involve the local fire fighters who work with the schools throughout the year with training and fire drills.

“Last year we included not just Lady’s Island/St. Helena fire department, but opened it up to all the other local first responder agencies including those from Bluffton,” said Jessica Green of St. Peter’s.

First responders and students were divided up equally so as not to give the students too much of an advantage.

During the second-inning stretch, both teams took a quick sprint around the soccer field to stay loose. Atziry Benaridez, a 2nd-grader at the school, beat everyone. Later it leaked that she is also on the school’s cross country team.

The score ended tied at 8.

<em>Above: Michael Chisholm of the Lady’s Island/St. Helena Fire Dept. tries to catch a fly ball during the third annual Heroes vs. Cardinals kickball game. The ball however bounced off Chisholm’s chest and fell to the ground, loading the bases.</em>