A football game ends after four quarters, but there will be lots of fun to be had at 5th Quarter on Friday, Oct. 20.

Three Eastern York-area churches will host 5th Quarter directly after the Eastern York High School homecoming football game. The festivities will be open to youths in grades six through 12 and will be held at Susquehanna Grace Community Church, across Cool Creek Road from the high school at 6694 Sunrise Ave., Wrightsville.

"The goal of this event was creating a safe environment for the kids to celebrate homecoming weekend," explained Chris Merrill, connections pastor at Wrightsville Assembly of God, which is partnering with Susquehanna Grace and Christ Church of Yorkana for 5th Quarter. "That weekend can traditionally be a little unsafe with activities kids might get involved in. I'm a parent and a pastor, and I'm thinking about ways we can come together and provide a safe and exciting environment for kids to have fun and to bring some joy."

Merrill organized a 5th Quarter event last year at his church on Orange Street in Wrightsville, but he found it wasn't convenient for kids to get there after the football game.

At the beginning of the summer, he reached out to two other local youth pastors, Levi Lentz at Susquehanna Grace and JD Dixon at Christ United Methodist Church in Yorkana, with the idea of coming together to host the event this year.

5th Quarter will feature an inflatable, a big bonfire with s'mores, pizza, games, music, giveaways and more. "We'll have outdoor games like cornhole, Spikeball and gaga ball," Merrill said. "We'll also have an indoor spot set up to play video games."

He noted that members of the King's Knights, the Bible club at Eastern York High School, will be helping with the event as well.

"Some of the girls from the club came to me and said they wanted to do this again and asked me, 'What are your thoughts?'" Merrill recalled. "I said, 'Well, what are your thoughts?' I wanted their ideas to make this event great." King's Knights members will be leaving the football game at halftime to set up for 5th Quarter and will be hands-on during the event, he said.

5th Quarter will end promptly at 10:45 p.m., Merrill noted, keeping student driving restrictions and curfews in mind. He's also working with the Lower Windsor Township Police Department to make sure the event is as safe as possible.

He's excited about the prospect of collaborating with other churches to bring 5th Quarter to even more kids.

"I found some guys that really love the community and love Jesus," he said. "They want to see this community grow and see it be infused with the joy of the Lord. An event like this is a great way to build community."