Oh, you thought the playoffs were the end of Etowah’s football season? Psych! Senior football players throughout the county met Thursday, Dec. 6 at Cherokee High School for the county’s annual Senior Bowl to throw around the pig skin once more.  

“It was good to play with them for one last time and make new friends with other teams,” Tyler Freas, senior football player, said.  

All six high schools came together for the final football game. Since only the seniors from each high school participated, the schools were divided into two teams: Woodstock, Sequoyah and Etowah combined players, cheerleaders, JROTC, and band members to form Team Gray to play against Team White comprised of Creekview, River Ridge, and Cherokee. 

“It was a great experience and so nice to see how after a competitive football season, we all came together as one big team, and it just went to show how close we all really are as a district,” Rachel Conley, senior cheerleader, said.  

Team White lit up the score board first, missing the extra point. Then Team Gray responded with a field goal. At the beginning of the third quarter, Team White scored another touchdown for a final score 13-7. 

“It felt good knowing we got to play together one last time, and it was cool playing with guys from Sequoyah and Woodstock because I know a lot of those guys, and it brought back memories from CYFA,” Cade Gant, senior football player, said.  

During half time, seniors Eve Bussey and Jacob Vande Corput received a $500 Shottenkirk Cherokee Dodge Jeep Ram scholarship. All football players, band members, JROTC cadets, and cheerleaders in the county were eligible to apply.  

“I was the only JROTC cadet out of the whole Cherokee County who got the scholarship, and it felt really rewarding that my hard work paid off,” Eve Bussey, senior, said.  

All proceeds from the game went directly to St. Jude Children’s Research hospital. Shottenkirk Cherokee Dodge Jeep Ram also held a competition between the six high schools. The school with the most attendees would receive $5,000. Cherokee High School won; they had more than 100 people attend.