In case there was a reminder needed that Saturday’s seasonopener between Northside and Jones County was not a typical game to begin a regular season, that sentiment was reinforced on Monday afternoon.
Most regular-season games don’t begin a week with coaches and top players of the teams taking place gathering for a luncheon and press conference to introduce participants. But that’s exactly what took place on Monday in the Mercer football fieldhouse, with the windows of the building overlooking Five Star Stadium, where Saturday’s Macon Touchdown Club Kickoff Classic will take place.
The Greyhounds and Eagles will start things off at 4 p.m. with two other teams familiar to JCHS fans, Mary Persons and Northeast, playing in the nightcap.
The Greyhounds are no strangers to the Macon Touchdown Club, which during the course of the season recognizes local football standouts with Player Of The Week Awards. Thanks to Jones County’s success as a program, it has had its players honored multiple times.
“The Touchdown club of Macon really does a phenomenal job of taking care of our athletes in middle Georgia,” Greyhounds head coach Mike Chastain said. “They do a great job of recognizing our guys.”
The opportunity for the Greyhounds to compete in a college stadium isn’t lost on them either.
“We really appreciate them putting this game on and putting it at a venue like Mercer, where our guys get to come and play in a college stadium and see this atmosphere,” Chastain said. “We’re really proud to be here.”
Both the Greyhounds and Eagles are coming off quarterfinal appearances a season ago, where Jones County was 10-3 and Northside was 9-4. Although brief, there is a bit of recent history between the two teams. From 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2015, the teams were in the same region. In 2018 and 2019 as well as 1963, both faced each other in non-region matchups. Overall, Northside leads the all-time series 6-3, but the Greyhounds have won three of the past four meetings, including the last two in a row.
“This is an exciting opportunity for our players, coaches and Jones County,” Northside head coach Kevin Smith said. “It should be a great atmosphere; we couldn’t ask for much more than that.”
Scan this QR code for a video of Coach Chastain speaking to the Touchdown Club
