Macon Touchdown Club Middle Georgia Kickoff Classic News – January 6, 2024
I am here to give you the news that after an eight year run, The Macon Touchdown Club Middle Georgia Kickoff Classic, will be ending, and there will not be a game in August.
The games had been used as a fundraiser for the Macon Touchdown Club Educational Foundation, and to promote high school football in Middle Georgia.
“The Macon Touchdown Club Educational Foundation honors outstanding local scholar athletes. Since 1983, the Foundation has awarded over $420,000 in scholarships for college bound scholar athletes.”
In October, we had a meeting with Mercer Athletics to discuss the games for the next two seasons, 2024 and 2025. The games have always been on a two year rotation due to the scheduling requirements for GHSA football.
Mercer Athletics cited several issues with holding the game at Five Star Stadium in August. They cited the heat factor of playing games in August, the traffic that was created by playing two games in one day at 4:00 and 7:30, the limitations of parking related to the two games, and the safety of having the large crowds from various high schools. They also cited that the games have conflicted with Move In day for students the last two years, and coordinating our games with the Mercer University football games.
History of the Macon Touchdown Club Middle Georgia Kickoff Classic
In 2015, Coach Greg Moore of FPD and Coach Barney Hester of Howard High School, came to the Macon Touchdown Club and proposed a doubleheader football game to be played at Mercer University. King Kemper, Lloyd Perkins and Johnny Crawford met with Coach Moore and Coach Hester, and proposed the idea to Mercer University. There was a mutual interest in pursuing the game, so we moved forward with it.
The committee was chaired by Johnny Crawford, who also was the primary recruiter for sponsorship of the games. The committee consisted of Lloyd Perkins, King Kemper, Bryant Longshore, Garland Tyner, Mike Parker, Russell Deese, Larry Mimbs, Edgar Hatcher, and Barney Hester.
The first games were held in August of 2016, with FPD playing Howard High, and Mount de Sales playing Central High. Mercer Athletics charged us a rental fee of $7,000.00 for the use of Five Star Stadium on that first Saturday, and the next three years. The rental fee stayed $7,000.00 until year five, when it went up to $9,000.00. In years seven and eight, the rental fee was increased to $11,000.00. Due to the support of great sponsors, we were able to generate revenue for the Macon Touchdown Club Educational Foundation even with these additional charges.
Click on this link to see the sponsors for the 2023 games.
Results from the eight years of the Macon Touchdown Club Middle Georgia Kick-off Classic
2016
FPD 34 Howard High School 14
Central High School 48 Mount de Sales Academy 14
2017
FPD 17 Central High School 12
Howard High School 41 Mount de Sales Academy 37
2018
Dublin High School 55 Tattnall Square Academy 0
Peach County High School 27 Northside (WR) High School 24
2019
Westside High School 34 Southwest High School 16
Washington County High School 42 Baldwin High School 7
2020
Games Canceled – COVID
2021
FPD 48 ACE 0
Warner Robins High School 48 Valdosta High School 20
2022
Jones County High School 27 Northside (WR) High School 21
Mary Persons High School 14 Northeast High School 12
2023
Northside (WR) High School 33 Jones County High School 21
Mary Persons High School 20 Northeast High School 14
Thank You to all of the volunteers, Sponsors, and high schools that made this event a great success.
