Be thankful for loyalty and not forgetting where you came from.

The Slippery Rock University football team is thankful Brandon Fusco has those character traits.

The former SRU center, Seneca Valley graduate and former Gene Upshaw Award winner as the best lineman in all of NCAA Division II football stepped up to the plate this past week — so The Rock football team could fill its plates with an early Thanksgiving dinner.

Because SRU had to travel approximately 500 miles by bus — an eight-hour trip — to get to West Haven, Conn., for its second-round playoff game Saturday, the team left Thursday around 5 p.m.

The coaching staff wanted to get a practice in at the University of New Haven’s facilities on Friday. That’s understandable.

But that meant no Thanksgiving dinner for the players, coaches and Rock support staff.

Fusco changed that.

An NFL veteran offensive lineman, he had his season cut short by a broken ankle suffered a few weeks ago. And his Atlanta Falcons team is struggling in the won-loss department in 2018.

But never mind all of that.

Fusco thought enough of his collegiate alma mater that when he learned of this situation, he footed the bill for a pre-Thanksgiving feast — with all the trimmings — at a church hall near campus the night before Thanksgiving.

The players, coaches, support staff and families all got together for a special meal provided by one of the truly special players the Rock football program has ever produced.

A kind gesture, indeed.

One that shouldn’t go without recognition.

Awards upcoming

The Butler Eagle sports staff will be presenting our version of All-Star Week this week.

With the help of Butler County coaches in the respective sports, we will present our girls volleyball Honor Roll and Player of the Year in Wednesday’s edition.

Our girls soccer Honor Roll and Player of the Year will run Thursday. The boys soccer Honor Roll and Player of the Year will run Friday.

Our annual Sweet 16 Football Offense and Defense will be in the Sunday, Dec. 2 edition. Butler Eagle Scoring Trophy winner Garrett Reinke of Mars will be profiled as well.

Quite a season

This fall sports season has been among the most successful we’ve witnessed. Seneca Valley boys and girls soccer won WPIAL championships.

Knoch and Freeport volleyball fell one match short of returning to the state finals. Butler volleyball won its first playoff match in 12 years. North Catholic volleyball claimed a WPIAL title.

Karns City girls soccer won another district crown.

Congratulations to all.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle