Ashanti Joins Home Makeover Hoopla

The Harvard Cup playoff game between Lafayette and Riverside High Schools was supposed to take place Saturday. But the game was moved up to Friday night to accommodate Lafayette center Joel Powell and the cast and crew of ABC's Extreme Home Makeover.

The Powell family's Massachusetts Avenue home on Buffalo's lower west side has been undergoing an "extreme makeover" for the past week.

Moving the game to Friday would allow Joel, a Senior, to play in it and be available for the "big reveal" set for Saturday afternoon.

"We're the city of good neighbors and for the Buffalo Public Schools this was an easy decision to move the game," said Aubrey Lloyd, Assistant Athletic Director.

Joel, along with his mother and siblings, returned from Florida Friday morning after being sequestered at Walt Disney World while their home got the makeover.

They won't see the end result until Saturday.

Before the game, where his family sat in the stands under the watchful eye of an "extreme family attendant", Joel told 2 On Your Side he was touched by the gesture to accommodate his desire to play in what possibly (and in fact what turned out to be) his final high school football game.

"It's just a great feeling,..I'm just so overwhelmed and happy," he said, adding that his family was on pins and needles in anticipation of seeing their remodeled home.

But the producers of the show known for big surprises had one more for the Powell family. During half time they were escorted from their seats to a private area of the stadium where they were introduced to one of their favorite recording stars, the Grammy Award winning Ashanti.

The family returned to their seats with Ashanti and an army of camera crews in tow, the crowd went wild, ...and dumbfounded players turned from the field and stared until their coaches yelled at them to get their heads back in the game.

Ashanti sat with family for the rest of the third quarter, mugging for pictures and waving to fans.

Members of the public are welcome to attend the unveiling of the Powell home on Saturday, but are urged to report to Erie Basin Marina where shuttles will run from 9AM to 12PM.