For those of you who didn’t notice the traffic jams on George Douthit Drive or over by the Jacksonville Christian Academy on Friday night you might not know this but high school football is officially here, and it started in grand fashion! While all three of our area teams went down in defeat (Jacksonville High School came down with a bad case of fumblitis in the red zone of all places and lost 15-13 to Weaver; JCA bowed to ASD 42-22 and Pleasant Valley lost in a close one to Ohatchee 14-12) the teams all gave the fans something to shout about.
If you were late to the JCA game you missed something special. The football field was named Dr. Tommy G Miller Stadium and Field, and the honor was well deserved.
Dr. Miller wears several hats at JCA. He is the principal, the head football coach, the girls’ and boys’ basketball coach, softball coach, and all-around good guy.
Dr. Miller began coaching at JCA in 1988 and formed the first football team in 1989. For 12 years, Dr. Miller guided his eight-man program leading them to three championships. In 2002, JCA made the move to the AHSAA.
JCA didn’t have a field of their own, moving from Germanic Springs to one year at JSU. Last year, after a lot of hard work, especially on the part of Dr. Miller, the dream of owning their own field was realized and the Thunder played its first season on their “own” turf.
It’s no wonder that the field was dedicated to a very dedicated and deserving man.
After leaving Tommy G Miller Stadium, I drove to Jacksonville to watch the annual battle between the Eagles and Weaver. Golden Eagle Stadium was packed not only with fans, but with camera trucks and crew. Through the hard work of Mr. Ricky Whaley, an ag teacher at Jacksonville High School, the money was raised to have the JHS-Weaver game televised as the game-of-the-week and it was done in grand fashion.
Mr. Whaley turned into a very respectable sideline reporter (he better be careful, it might become his weekend job) and entertained the TV audience with interviews throughout the game.
The fact that the game was televised, and the intense competition of the field, brought out the best in the Eagle fans who demonstrated the highest level of school spirit. If only a couple of fumbles hadn’t of been lost the outcome of the game would certainly have been different.
The Eagles showed a lot of promise for the season and fans should be excited to see them in action at home this week against Oneonta.
