When players signed on to play in the Inaugural Dawson County Jaycees Flag Football Tournament last Saturday they knew there would be some tough competition.
What they didn’t know was that one team planned ahead and called in a few favors from some friends at Georgia Tech.
Dawson County natives Levi, Lance and Logan Walls, who play football for Georgia Tech, came out and joined Benjy Edwards’ team at Veterans Memorial Park on Saturday. They also brought two other players from Georgia Tech to play and coach the team.
“We definitely ran into some tough competition,” said Adam Buice, who put together a team of his high school buddies to play in the tournament. Buice also currently serves as president of the Jaycees. “But we thought we did great the first two games.”
Buice’s team came up short in the championship game against Edwards and the Tech crew with the final score 13-0.
Proceeds from the tournament, which featured eight teams and a chili cook off, will allow the Jaycees to award two $500 scholarships to two graduating seniors from Dawson County High School this spring.
“I want to say a huge thank you to all our participants. This is an excellent way to raise money for a student in our community to receive a scholarship,” Buice said.
Clint Bearden, who helped organize the tournament, said he was looking for a unique fundraiser that did not require the club to ask community members and local businesses to donate large amounts of money to the cause.
“As such a young organization, we also didn’t want to encroach on any other fundraisers other organizations were holding,” he said.
The group also used winnings from evenings when the Jaycees play trivia as the grand prize for the winning football team.
The winning team was also awarded a trophy, which they will keep for one year. “Then they’ll have to come back next year and defend it,” Bearden said.
Geared toward young professionals, the Jaycees re-established in Dawson County last year and is involved in numerous business, social and philanthropic efforts in the community.
The group is currently planning a charity canoe race on the Etowah River for later this summer.