Dublin, Tattnall, Peach County, and Northside set for Macon Touchdown Club Kickoff Classic (w/video, week's schedule)
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
Kickoff was four days away, and his team opened the season with a quality win.
So, yes, Roger Holmes was in a good mood.
Dublin's Roger Holmes photobombs Tattnall's Chance Jones.
Video: Michael A. Lough/The Sports Report of Central Georgia.
Tattnall head coach Chance Jones was just about to start a video interview when Holmes snuck up behind him, ostensibly for a photo bomb with bunny ears behind Jones’ head.
Jones turned, and behind Holmes were four Dublin players.
“And have them two stand beside me,” Jones said, nodding toward some sizable Irish gridders.
Soon, enough, the two head coaches and their players, along with those from Northside and Peach County, would be sweating up a storm at practice.
The Irish and Trojans will meet in the Macon Touchdown Club Kickoff Classic Saturday at Mercer.
Video: Michael A. Lough/The Sports Report of Central Georgia
But Tuesday, they gathered in the field house at Mercer for a press conference to discuss Saturday’s Macon Touchdown Club Kickoff Classic.
Tattnall and Dublin play at 5 p.m., with Northside and Peach County to follow, probably around 8 p.m.
Tickets are on sale at the schools, and the schools keep the revenue they sell.
Jones was the kid in the group, having graduated from Westfield in 2002 and is early in his third year at Tattnall.
Holmes, Northside’s Kevin Kinsler and Peach County’s Chad Campbell bring a cumulative record of 342-94-1 (78.4 percent) into Saturday’s doubleheader.
Jones is a pretty good 20-5 at this point.
Three of the four coaches enter the weekend having won their openers.
Northside rolled over Centennial 38-14, Dublin throttled Class A ECI 42-7, and Tattnall slammed Our Lady of Mercer 59-15.
Northside is the only one of the four to have played at Mercer, forced there for a playoff game during their championship run in 2014 because McConnell-Talbert’s turf was all torn up.
But none of those Eagles remain.
The Eagles and Trojans will play at 8 p.m. Saturday at Mercer.
Video: Michael A. Lough/The Sports Report of Central Georgia
So the stage is a new one as the Touchdown Club expanded its reach for this year’s field.
“I know the Corky Kell played here the last couple years,” Campbell said. “Wasn’t very fond of that, but I was very fond to be involved in this.”
The Eagles and Trojans are familiar with each other, geographically and on the field. They’ve scrimmaged for years, and this is the first regular-season meeting since 2005, a 30-12 Northside win.
All this is is the teams meeting a little bit later than usual, but that still adds something to the pairing.
“We’re no strangers to each other,” Kinsler said. “There are a lot of similarities between our programs. I think our kids are a lot alike, the programs are a lot alike the successes that both of us have had.”
Tattnall had weak offensive night in a scrimmage against Howard, a Class AAAA team, but made a quick turnaround against an albeit undermanned Our Lady of Mercy.
After all, 59 points is 59 points.
“We know that the guys at Tattnall Square are a football team that, I think without question, when you score 59 points, answers enough,” Holmes said.
Jones was happy with his team’s progress, but that joy started reversing course within 24 hours.
“I’m a little mad, after watching film on Saturday,” Jones said. “I’m a little mad at whoever convinced me to play Dublin. They look like they could eat us for a snack.”