What began earlier this year as a casual conversation among coaches within the Jones County soccer program came to fruition on Saturday, and the result was two halves of friendly competition that raised money for something that everyone on the field had been part of at some point – playing soccer as a Greyhound or Lady Greyhound. Experience ended up winning out on Saturday after the Old Folks squad held on to win 3-2 after leading 3-0 before the Young Guns rallied for a pair of goals in the final six minutes.
“Especially for us older folks, we thought that we’d hang with them for a little bit,” said Clark Sweatt, one of the players from the Old Folks roster and also a Jones County middle school soccer coach. “It was just a fun experience to come out here, have fun and let the young guys know that we still have it.”
After an initial conversation earlier this year between Sweatt and JCHS girls head soccer coach Mikayla Coley, Jones County’s soccer programs from both the middle and high school levels invited players from the recent and more distant past back for an alumni game Saturday. And while there was a degree of competitiveness with teams broken down by age groups with the Young Guns and Old Folks taking on one another at Greyhound Field, the end result was raising money that was split between the high-school and middleschool programs.
Between the amount that players paid to participate and what fans cheering on players paid for admission, nearly $400 was raised.
“Some of them drove four or five hours this morning to come here. Some are in medical school, NP school or are in Atlanta,” Sweatt said. “Some of them that drove down saw some people they had not seen in six or seven years.”
