By Terry Karkos,Staff Writer

BETHEL – SAD 44 directors recently voted to allow the effort to revive football at Telstar High School after a 23-year hiatus to go into overtime.

Tim O’Connor, chairman of Telstar Football Boosters, said late Thursday afternoon that school board members at the June 13 meeting extended their fund-raising deadline.

In November, directors tasked the boosters, a small group of former Telstar Rebel football players and alumni, with raising $70,000 to significantly fund the program’s start-up costs.

They were to have raised $45,000 in cash and an additional $25,000 in pledges by June 30.

But, on June 13, directors voted nearly unanimously to extend the deadline to June 30, 2006. The pledges are to be yearly and payable in full by 2007.

Additionally, directors retained the option to re-evaluate the amounts and implementation date of the Telstar High School football program in June 2006.

If the $70,000 is raised, the program would begin by fall 2006, O’Connor said.

As of Thursday afternoon, he said the boosters have raised $18,000.

“Our money-raising efforts were started too late,” to make the first deadline, he said.

Fund-raising work kicked off with a football alumni dinner on Feb. 26.

“We are still soliciting local businesses and writing personal letters for financial support. It takes a while,” O’Connor said, to raise that much money.

During the Andover Old Home Days festival this weekend, the boosters are to run a dunking booth and sell ice cream and soda for the pigskin revival cause.