Hudson, Ohio St., Robert Morris, Ohio Wesleyan, Mercyhurst unite for opioid awareness

They came to Hudson High School from places like Chagrin Falls, Shaker Heights, Mayfield and Medina.

Ohio State, Robert Morris, Mercyhurst and Ohio Wesleyan traveled a combined 500 miles to play men’s lacrosse games at the American Boy Fall Brawl.

Yes, great lacrosse was played, and a silent auction helped raise money, but Sunday was about bringing awareness to the opioid crisis impacting the nation.

It’s an issue that affects cities far and wide and it doesn’t discriminate.

Larry Megale, who founded American Boy, lost his son to an overdose in 2017, but the Centerville, Virginia, resident wanted to keep the epidemic in the forefront and provide as much help as possible for families in need.

“We want to create an atmosphere where we can help families go through what we went through,” Megale said. “We want to help families understand the things that did not work for Matt, so we provide what we call scholarships and raise money to provide aid for families who can't afford to go beyond what insurance pays or beyond Medicare if they need to stay beyond the 28-day treatment.

“We want to provide whatever we can whether it’s housing, sober living housing education, anything to keep them in treatment. Matt went through several 28-day treatments, but it's never enough to come back home. You’re clean physically, but you’re not totally clean mentally. We want to find a way to get people motivated to stay and want to help provide them any way we can.”

The Hudson lacrosse family lost a former player to an overdose this summer when Nick Advent passed away.

Western Reserve graduate, Hudson resident and Ohio State midfielder Blake Eiland knows about the crisis all too well.

“I’ve actually been closely affected by this problem,” Eiland said. “I have had two of my best friends’ mothers pass away in the past three years from this opioid problem. So, it's a big honor to come out and support people, those who are going through this and try to help as much as I can.

“It's truly inspirational to see people who have given up almost their whole lives to help people. It inspires me to go out and help people just like they're doing. The problem is growing fast. It's spreading to younger kids. You have to pay attention closely. Watch what your friends are doing. Make sure that they're staying in the right groups of people.”

Ohio State player Griffin Liedel, who played for Hudson last spring, was blown away by the feeling of positivity and willingness to help the cause he saw from his community.

“It’s super important to keep it in the forefront,” Liedel said. “It opens a lot of minds when you see it happen to someone in your community, someone who is so similar to us like Nick. It's really eye-opening and it should cause change.”

The day began with a U13 Sixes Tourney. Ohio State, Robert Morris and Ohio Wesleyan held clinics.

Tom Hurley, who played at the University of Delaware, spoke to everyone about his struggles with addiction.

But most importantly, all involved got educated about just how dangerous a problem dependency can be.

"This is awesome,” Hudson graduate and Mercyhurst midfielder Chase Weber said. “But I think that we could do more of these each year and keep trying to grow the cause.”

From 1999–2020, more than 564,000 people died from an overdose involving any opioid, including prescription and illicit opioids according to the Center for Disease Control.

It's a number that has nearly quintupled since 1999.

“We're excited to be back playing for a cause and just getting everyone involved,” Hudson graduate and Mercyhurst midfielder Adam Oscarson said. “It's a subject that needs to be addressed a little bit more. It has obviously affected a lot of people, no matter who they are throughout this nation. Just being able to see the impact it has on people's lives, it's truly sad and needs to get the recognition that it deserves.”

Explorers boys lacrosse coach Brandon Schwind was touched by the outpouring of support from the surrounding communities, but like everyone else stated, he wants to make sure awareness is there 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Those wanting to help can go to americanboy.org or visit “The American Boy Project” on Facebook.

“Opioid addiction could happen to anybody at any point in time,” he said. “You look at the current stats and it's so prevalent. The fact that we're able to shed light on such an issue is extremely important. To have Ohio State, Robert Morris, Ohio Wesleyan and Mercyhurst all behind us to help bring light to this issue and continue to shed light is so great.

“It's important that people understand the struggles. This impacts our community directly, but it also impacts the nation. It's a big deal.”

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: American Boy Fall Brawl held at Hudson to bring awareness to opioid issue