At John F. Kennedy Middle School on Thursday, students from the Boys and Girls Club of Southeast Virginia Suffolk unit faced off in a game of “financial football” against students from the Portsmouth unit.

According to Reggie Carter, director of the Suffolk unit, it was the program’s fourth year at JFK.

Earlier in the week, staff from BayPort Credit Union — which hosts the competition locally — taught financial concepts like saving, investing, credit and debit cards and income and expenses.

Thursday’s online football videogame, projected onto a cafeteria wall, had students answering questions based on those lessons. A correct answer meant a successful play, and the teams could choose between easier or harder questions, with the harder ones earning them more yards on the field.

“We try to take financial principles and put them into an interactive, fun way to learn,” said Kris Moore, youth education officer with BayPort. “We try to gear our activities toward real life, so they are actually making choices (for instance) between Chick-fil-A and Outback (Steakhouse).”

Throughout the week, the students earned “money” for correct answers and homework completion, which they could then spend at a store set up on tables.

“They can choose to spend or save,” Moore said. “Some could have $500 to spend today, or some could only have $100 because they have been spending all week.”

The Portsmouth students, from William E. Waters Middle School, were chaperoned by Boys and Girls Club volunteer Dwayne Brady, who also happens to sub at Lakeland High School.

Whether they win or lose, Brady said, the students understand the importance of trying their best. Brady noted that since the subject of financial literacy has become mandatory to graduate from high school in Virginia, “this is gearing them up for that course.”

Carter said his is the only Southside Boys and Girls Club unit with the program, which BayPort runs elsewhere on the Peninsula.

“I think it gives the kids a great foundation as far as financial principles,” Carter said. “It’s just a great foundation that can carry them into their teen and adult life.”

One spectator in the JFK cafeteria was James B. Mears, Bayport’s senior vice president and chief operating officer.

“The earlier you start with the kids, the better they are,” Mears said. “Kids get into high school and college, and they don’t have the financial education that they need.”