Middle Georgia football teams prepare for inaugural Gridiron Classic at Fort Valley State University
Players and coaches from across Middle Georgia are one day closer to the first Gridiron Classic, happening Friday and Saturday at Fort Valley State University's Wildcat Stadium.
FORT VALLEY, Georgia – (41NBC/WMGT) – Players and coaches from across Middle Georgia are one day closer to the first Gridiron Classic, happening Friday and Saturday at Fort Valley State University’s Wildcat Stadium.
Representatives from all 12 competing teams: Central, Dougherty, Macon County, Southwest, Westside, Howard, Perry, Baldwin, Bleckley County, Rutland, Northeast, and Peach County, were at FVSU Thursday to take questions from the media.
Several coaches and players spoke about what competing at a collegiate field in this type of environment means to them.
Bibb County Schools Athletic Director Kevin Grooms spoke with 41NBC about how the idea for the Gridiron Classic came about, and what the future of it may look like.
“This is something we dreamed about at Northeast High School when I was the A.D. at Northeast,” he said. “It’s something we wanted to have for an inner county thing with everyone in our county playing against each other, but the Macon Touchdown Club had the one at Mercer, so we seen an opportunity when that one kind of went away.”
That’s when FVSU and Bibb County Schools swooped in.
“So, we seen the opportunity and got with Fort Valley and merged together with Fort Valley to try to produce something in Middle Georgia and still have the same type of event,” Grooms continued. “This is something like the Corky Kell up in Atlanta. We want to have the Corky Kell of Middle Georgia. We need a platform for our student athletes in Middle Georgia. Even when I first started this event, I had teams from South Georgia, so I can see this thing being just like the Corky Kell as a Wednesday, Thursday thing, and actually a Friday, Saturday thing after our cycle year we are doing with Middle Georgia. I think its a win-win for the school districts as well as Fort Valley State.”
Grooms said he envisions having a county-wide basketball event at FVSU in the future.
The Gridiron Classic starts Friday at 2 when Central takes on Dougherty. Macon County faces Southwest at 5. Peach County faces Northeast at 8 in our Game of the Week on The End Zone. All three games, and four more games in Middle Georgia, will be featured on 41NBC’s The End Zone during 41NBC News at 11.
Saturday’s games begin at noon when Bleckley County faces Rutland. Howard faces Westside at 3 and Perry faces Baldwin County at 6.
