Law enforcement officials and firefighters of Sacramento County celebrated the 35th anniversary of the Pig Bowl game, in honor of police officers and firefighters who fell in the line of duty, to raise money for local charities.

“Guns and Hoses,” created in the 1970s, brought family and friends together in support of the event. Since 2003, the game has turned into a rivalry between the fire and police departments.

Family, friends and police officers and firefighters not playing in the game came out to support both the teams and charities.

Anglica Banuelos, sophomore social work major, came to support the Mustard Seed School, where she interns. Most attendees came in warm clothes, bundled up from the harsh weather, hoping to catch a glimpse of blue skies as the storm clouds rolled out just in time for kickoff.

Before the kickoff the national anthem was sung along with “God Bless America”, and the firefighters and police officers came and hovered just under the field goal posts for a moment, as helicopters circled the stadium from above.

Each football team had its own marching band with Laguna Creek High School for the Hogs and Natomas High School for the Dogs. Sitting in the stands, the bands accompanied the cheerleaders and kept spirits high.

Most of the players played football in college, some even on a professional level.

“There’s a lot of guys that played at Sac State that got criminal justice degrees that are now sheriffs,” said Steve Kenyon, head coach for the Hogs team.

The various law enforcement agencies came together about six months before the game to practice together and prepare for the event, Their black uniforms read “Hogs” across the front.

“Twelve practices, that’s all we got. Pretty good team for 12 practices.” Kenyon said.

The Sacramento fire departments came together around the same time to also practice before slipping on their red jerseys that said “Dogs.”

“They start getting ready, they have teams, they have meetings and then they start putting on the gear… but the guys that play think about it all year long,” said Sacramento Metro Fire Department Capt. Christian Pebbles.

“It’s an opportunity to get together and raise some funds,” he said.

The rivalry between the two teams was clearly strong and during the game, the tackles sent a couple players into backspins and skidding into the sidelines. And although it was heavy, there was still a healthy dosage of fairness between the two civil services.

During the game, a Dogs player was injured and the first person at his side was a member of the Hogs standing close by, checking to make sure he was fine before he celebrated the Hogs touchdown.

At halftime, the K-9 law enforcement unit held a mock purse snatching on the field. The officer released a dog to catch a mock mugger. The K-9 had the mock mugger’s arm within seconds. Most spectators seemed to be caught off-guard by the display of a man bolting across the field with a German Shepard nipping at his heels.

At the end of the day, the Hogs won, beating the Dogs 35-20. Everyone came together to celebrate the real winners, the dozens of causes and charities affected by the $50,000 raised in funds. The cost of the game was $10 with the proceeds going straight to the charities.

Some of the organizations that received the donations included services provided to homeless teenagers, social work organizations and scholarship funds for those pursuing criminal justice and fire science degrees within local universities and community colleges.

Anne Morrison can be reached at [email protected]