Proceeds of a Friday, Sept. 13 tri-tip dinner for four fundraiser will benefit the Escalon High School football program, and officials said it was classified a success.

The $60 ticket price purchased a seasoned, grilled tri-tip, four baked potatoes, Terri Beam’s beans, a bag of salad, and a loaf of French bread. The meal provided enough food for a family of four and the grilling of the tri-tips started on Friday morning.

Meals were bagged up at the Escalon Azores Band Hall on First Street, with people driving up to have the meals delivered by football players on site helping out.

“We served almost 600 meals, we had a lot of great help from parents, and all levels of high school football players,” said Escalon High School varsity football coach and Athletic Director Andrew Beam. “The money raised goes to help provide for program needs.”

The fundraiser was also staged during a bye week for the varsity and JV football teams, leaving a Friday night open for the dinner.

Beam said the funding is needed, since it costs roughly $1,700 to outfit one player for football.

“That doesn’t include cleats, which the kids buy themselves,” Beam said.

It does cover costs for uniforms, helmets, pads, and the like.

“It’s an expensive sport,” the coach admitted.

He said that the early morning grilling crew started up about 7:30 a.m. Friday and primarily included Derek Scott, Ray Scott, Danny Medina, Anthony Suniga and himself, but they were able to hand off the duties later in the day.

“We grilled up 600 tri-tips and the last 150, we were sitting in the chairs watching the senior boys flipping them and cooking them,” Beam said.

He added that the fundraiser is a good way for the team to raise money, with the meal a good value that comes with plenty of food.

“It’s fun,” Beam said, noting that the players all work together well and a crew of parents helps get it organized and keeps it running smoothly.

Each bag of food also had an EHS football schedule attached to the front.