Hearing Aid Recovered For Wareham Football Player

They've informally dubbed it the Cranberry Bowl. Each year, Old Rochester Regional and Wareham High School football teams suit up, head down Route 6 and face off in a spirited rivalry. The games can sometimes become chippy, but tonight, there was a nice moment during halftime.

With 6:27 left in the half and with the Bulldogs leading 28-0, Wareham tight end Dominic Labelle was being taken down by a tackle when he felt something come loose in his ear. It was Dominic's hearing aid. "When I got hit, I felt it come loose," said Labelle, "then when I hit the ground I felt it pop out of my ear."

Play was suspended for 12 minutes as both teams' players, coaches, officials, police and parents used cell phone flashlights to try to find the hearing aid, which costs thousands of dollars. The crowd of people thoroughly swept over the grass, but play eventually resumed with Labelle's hearing aid still missing.

The search resumed when both teams cleared the field for halftime. A few minutes later, a small cheer erupted from the center of the field when someone held up a hand in the air. The cheer grew louder as the crowd realized what was going on. Wareham Police Lt. John Gerard was holding the hearing aid in his hand, and jogged to the sidelines to give it to Labelle's father.

The tall tight end was visibly relieved to find out that his hearing aid was recovered, and immediately found Gerard to say thank you.

It was like finding a needle in a haystack, but with fans and players from both teams searching, the mission was accomplished.