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Mountain Home Fire/Rescue beat the Mountain Home Police Department on Sunday in the fifth annual MHPD vs. MHFD Charity Ragball Game, and this year the trophy was not the point.
All proceeds go to 9-month-old Waylon Callahan and his family to help with his care at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, where his mother has been staying with him nearly since his birth. Waylon is the grandson of Jason Carter of Carters and Sons, a longtime supporter of both departments.
MHPD Officer Zach Ables and MHFD Capt. Jake Bickford presented the proceeds to Carter after the game.
The win gives the fire department the traveling trophy for a second straight year. MHFD now leads the series 3-2, with wins in 2023, 2025 and 2026. The police department’s only title came in 2024.
In a post after the game, MHPD said it was disappointed not to take back the trophy but that supporting Waylon and his journey mattered more. Beating the police department always feels good, the fire department wrote, but raising money for Waylon and his family felt even better.
Both departments normally pick their own charities, splitting the proceeds. This year they chose the same one.
Waylon was born with a complex set of heart defects, according to a post from his mother, Kerrigan, that the departments shared ahead of the game. His diagnoses include hypoplastic right heart syndrome, tricuspid atresia, transposition of the great arteries, dextrocardia and multiple holes in his heart.
He underwent four open-chest procedures in his first 19 days of life. Doctors placed pulmonary artery bands and several stents to support his heart until he was strong enough for a bigger surgery.
That surgery, a Norwood open-heart procedure, came in May. His recovery was rough, with breathing problems, infections, wound complications, collapsed lungs and repeated stretches on a ventilator.
After a few days at home, Waylon returned to the hospital in August for G-tube surgery. He developed serious complications, became critically ill and suffered a brain injury.
His family has seen significant weakness on his left side since then, Kerrigan wrote, but they have also started to see small movements. His heart journey is not finished, and neither is his neurological recovery.
“This is Waylon the Warrior,” she wrote.
The ragball game started in 2022 as a friendly rivalry between the two departments and has grown into one of the city’s steadier fundraisers. Past beneficiaries include the widow of MHPD Officer Billy Dearborn, Clarkridge volunteer firefighter Mark McMahon, Salvation Army children’s programs, Project Fire Buddies and St. Jude patient Krew Hudson.
Last year’s game raised a record $5,802 for Hudson and pushed the four-year total to nearly $20,000.
Bickford told the Observer before the game that the Sunday evening slot was the only date both departments could field a team around training schedules. The game was played at the Mountain Home High School softball field.
