Jacksonville – The Franklin Elementary School sure does enjoy the visits by the MacMurray Athletic Department…especially around Halloween!

     The MacMurray football team paid a visit to the school on Monday, Oct. 31. Several of the same athletes had previously visited the school recently for a reading program that the Athletic Department supports. But, on Halloween the subject was candy! The coaches and players greeted the students at lunchtime and received an overwhelmingly warm…and noisy…welcome. They distributed bags for each student to place their candy in and then handed out treats to many of the children.

     MacMurray head football coach Brandon McCray arrived with several representatives of the team including assistant coach Tesfa Smith. Participating students included: Peter Ereg (senior/E. Lansing, Mich.), Larry Pirollo (junior/Lake Mary, Fla.), Ryan Binkley (freshman/St. Louis, Mo.), Sean Nelson (freshman/Viera, Fla.), Derek Uffelmann (senior/Redbud, Ill.) and Kyle Moore (freshman/Zion, Ill.).

     The team has been participating in this event for about ten years now. “It’s one of my favorite times of the year,” said McCray.

     Located in Jacksonville, Ill., MacMurray College is a private, four-year, liberal arts, coeducational college, founded in 1846, and affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Its friendly, informal environment stresses academic excellence, personal attention, career experience, and well-rounded development of each individual.