The Super Bowl is still a few weeks away, but a Thursday, Jan. 23, game on the campus gridiron was just as spectacular for Poly High School students.
Special education students from across the Riverside Unified School District took to the football field for the 11th annual Bear Bowl.
Hector Velasquez, a 10-year-old Washington Elementary School student with special needs, runs for a touchdown Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, during Poly High School’s annual Bear Bowl in Riverside. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
From left, Hawthorne Elementary School students with special needs, Zachary Miller, fifth grade, and fourth grader Julian Madray pose for a photo with Poly High School’s mascot during the Riverside high school’s annual Bear Bowl on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
Juliet Ervin, a Hawthorne Elementary School fourth grader with special needs, celebrates with cheerleaders Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, after scoring a touchdown at Poly High School’s annual Poly Bear Bowl in Riverside. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
Omar Vega, a Woodcrest Elementary School third grader with special needs, scores a touchdown Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, as Poly High School football players celebrate during the Riverside school’s annual Bear Bowl. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
Dayana Hernandez, a Jackson Elementary School sixth grader with special needs, scores a touchdown Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, as Poly High School students celebrate during the Riverside high school’s annual Bear Bowl. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
Elementary school students with special needs enter the field Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, for the Poly High School Bear Bowl in Riverside. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
Vallarea Guzman, a Hawthorne Elementary School third grader with special needs, celebrates Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, after scoring a touchdown at Poly High School’s annual Bear Bowl in Riverside. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
From left, Jackson Elementary School students with special needs Elijah Collazo, fourth grade, and Dayana Hernandez, sixth grade, interact with Poly High School’s mascot during the Riverside high school’s annual Bear Bowl on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
Kaleb Trader, a Washington Elementary School student with special needs, reacts Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, after scoring a touchdown during the Poly High School’s annual Bear Bowl in Riverside.(Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
Hawthorne Elementary School staff member Jaylene Rendond and fifth grader Cillian Randolf play Jenga at Poly High School’s annual Bear Bowl on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in Riverside. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
Mark Twain Elementary School employee Dawn Jarvis and second grader Jaxon McWorter, a special needs student, play with a Poly High School student Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, at the Riverside high school’s annual Poly Bear Bowl. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
Elijah Collazo, a Jackson Elementary School fourth grader with special needs, scores a touchdown Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, as Poly High School football players celebrate during the Riverside high school’s annual Bear Bowl. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
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Hector Velasquez, a 10-year-old Washington Elementary School student with special needs, runs for a touchdown Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, during Poly High School’s annual Bear Bowl in Riverside. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
Since 2014, the bowl connects these students with Bears football players, who share the experience of being on the field and scoring a game-winning touchdown.
Football players were joined by cheerleaders and the school band, who led cheers and played the school fight song to give students a “Friday Night Lights” feel.
“Activities such as the Bear Bowl bring all our students together, helping demonstrate our motto of All Means All,” Poly Principal Darel Hansen wrote in a Tuesday, Jan. 21, email.
Hansen said it shows “how Poly staff and students strive to ensure every student receives the best educational experience possible.”
Students taking part received a Bear Bowl 2025 T-shirt.
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