ELBURN – Hours before sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner, neighbors in the Blackberry Creek subdivision in Elburn continued a holiday tradition Thursday.

Twenty-six men and some older boys showed up for an 8 a.m. game of flag football, an event that was launched seven years ago by Elburn Trustees Jeff Walter and Mark Wilson. And before players began warming up, they dropped off food donations with the goal of filling Walter’s Chevrolet Tahoe. That goal was met. The food will be given to the Elburn Food Pantry.

“That’s why we do this,” Walter said. “And it’s a good reason for neighbors to get together and meet each other. There were a good eight or nine that had never played before. It was nice to meet some neighbors.”