The IHSA and the Illinois Pork Producers Association are proud to announce that Normal Community High School can lay claim to the best concession stand pork chop sandwich in the state of Illinois, as the Ironmen’s famed A-Train concession team has won the inaugural Pork and Pigskins State Championship!
Normal Community beat out a field of nearly 80 IHSA schools that competed in the competition sponsored by the Illinois Pork Producers Association, advancing from Region competition to the Savory 16, and then to Flavorful 4 before winning the state crown. Over 100,000 votes were cast online to determine the state champion among a delectable Flavorful 4 field that also included Cambridge High School, Carlinville High School, and Lemont High School.
Keeping the memory of a friend alive is the special ingredient that guides the winning concession crew, as the A-Train is named after former Normal Community football player Adam Denzer. Denzer, who was a pork producer and worked for the school district after high school, passed away in a farming accident in 2008. The A-Train trailer the group cooks with at Normal Community football games was purchased by Denzer’s widow Marie.
The A-Trian concessions crew will be presented with their prize package from the Illinois Pork Producers Association, which includes a $500 reimbursement on their pork purchase for next season, a state championship banner, and the coveted Golden Spatula, during halftime of the IHSA Class 6A Football State Championship game on Saturday, November 27 at Destination DeKalb in NIU’s Huskie Stadium.
***Story and photo courtesy of IHSA.org***
