GETTYSBURG, Pa.  – The Gettysburg College football received a boost in its preparation for this Saturday's game at McDaniel College as twins Dayton and Blake Biesecker stopped by practice on Wednesday, Sept. 25.
 
For seven years, Dayton and Blake have carried on an annual tradition in serving as honorary captains and performing the opening coin toss at a Bullets football game in conjunction with Coach To Cure MD, a project of Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD) in partnership with the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). This Saturday, Sept. 28, marks the 12th Coach To Cure MD event.  
 
Dayton and Blake were diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy when they were six years old. Duchenne muscular dystrophy affects approximately 1-in-5,000 boys crossing all cultures and races.
 
At Wednesday's practice, the two boys arrived outside Shirk Field and Musselman Stadium and were quickly given Bullets football shirts from Head Coach Kevin Burke '90. Without hesitation, they tossed on the shirts and rode their motorized wheelchairs onto the turf to meet the team. Avid sports enthusiasts and diehard Philadelphia sports fans, Dayton and Blake wasted no time in asking which of the 100-plus member team were Eagles fans like themselves.
 
Coach Burke took the two brothers onto the field and let them field hand-offs from the quarterbacks and call out all the offensive and defensive plays for several drills. Dayton and Blake took everything in stride, hanging out with the team for more than an hour and a half before heading home. Coach Burke called a halt to practice to thank the pair for coming and a large number of players took an opportunity to give the twins a quick fist pound.
 
"Having Dayton and Blake at practice was a phenomenal experience for our players and staff," said Burke. "They are the embodiment of tough. They both have great attitudes and are a ton of fun to be around. What an inspiration for our team. We were so honored to have them join us for a practice and I hope they had as much fun as we did."
 
The goal of Coach To Cure MD is to raise awareness of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, generate financial support for Duchenne research, and demonstrate coaches' commitment to the betterment of young men and the core academic research missions of their universities. Coach To Cure MD has raised over $2.1 million for Duchenne research over the last 11 years.
 
College football coaches all over the country will be wearing a patch with the Coach To Cure MD insignia this Saturday. By wearing this patch, coaches will show their support for Coach To Cure MD and the fight against this disease.
 
"We are proud to support the Coach To Cure MD program," said Burke. "College football is a tremendous vehicle to get the word out about the need for research into finding a cure."
 
Dayton and Blake will join Gettysburg senior captains Ryan Greene (Easton, Pa./Easton) and Charles Hagen (Yardley, Pa./Notre Dame) for Saturday's coin toss prior to kick-off at 1 p.m. Gettysburg (0-3, 0-2 CC) and McDaniel (2-1, 1-1 CC) will continue their 128-year old rivalry just minutes after the coin flip, but raising awareness and support for PPMD will have already made both teams victors on the gridiron.
 
For more information on Coach To Cure MD, please visit www.CoachToCureMD.org. You can also make a $25 donation by texting the word CURE TO 501501.