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WASHINGTON TWP. –  As the Washington Township football players celebrated following their 38-7 win in the NJSIAA Central Group 5 final, the Old Bridge side met in an unhappy huddle in the far end zone on Friday, Nov. 14.

Knights head coach Matt Donaghue beckoned the 20 or so seniors to stand up at the front of the semicircle.

“You know what these guys did for the program,” he said, scanning the whole team and coaches. “These guys paved the way.”

He had everyone give a round of applause.

It was a fitting salute as the Knights reached a football sectional final for just the third time in program history to go along with their 2001 and 2015 appearances.

As the big underdogs against a juggernaut, Old Bridge likely needed some breaks, fortunate bounces and some intangible karma to go its way.

A nonfprofit that was forced to cancel its gala because of shutdown travel issues turned the setback into an opportunity to give to some D.C. college students in need.

Scholarship America had ordered 200 catered meals for its fall gala in D.C. But flight cancellations spurred by the government shutdown meant many who planned to attend couldn’t make it.

It was too late for the group to cancel its catering order. So organizers decided to donate those meals to students at the University of the District of Columbia. It seemed like a fitting move for a nonprofit whose mission is to help students in need.

“We’re really excited about where “Plan B” landed,” Scholarship America Chief Growth Officer Abigail Selden said. “They were so surprised. I think we made their day.”

News of the free meals traveled quickly.

“First thing I did? Put my shoes on. Ran right downstairs,” UDC student Braxton Collins said. “It makes a total difference.”

“I’m currently on food stamp benefits so it’s also helpful to know that people are thinking about us in that manner,” student Rahsheda Rhodes said.

Many students at UDC work, have kids or are caregivers. Receiving a meal at a time when every dollar counts can go a long way.

“You never know what people are going through at home. For someone – maybe you never know if they ate this morning or if they didn’t have the chance to eat this morning,” said student Martiaz Plummer.

“Just a small thing like food is giving them an assurance that they belong here and they are being taken care of,” said Bushra Ahmad Saeed, associate dean of the UDC Community College.

“When you throw away food, that’s bad energy in a sense. When you’re pushing that energy into the world, that’s wasteful energy. When you say, let’s turn this around – reinvent the wheel – pour into people so they can pour back into us? I think you can’t go wrong with that,” Collins said.