Super excitement building for Lipsey Bowl on Tuesday
Published 11:00 am Saturday, October 15, 2022
The five-week regular season for Lipsey 5th/6th grade football has come to its conclusion and all that’s left is to crown a champion.
That’ll happen on Tuesday when Team Gray meets Team White in the Lipsey Bowl on King Field at Brookhaven High School. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and admission costs three dollars.
The 2022 season of Lipsey football has been a great bounce back for the long-time league. COVID-19 wiped out the 2020 season and last year participation numbers weren’t as high as they’d been in the past.
That meant in 2021 that the players were combined onto one team and filled out a schedule by playing other area pee-wee teams.
Lipsey went unbeaten against its local foes, but the hope was to bring back a full league in 2022.
The groundwork was laid last spring with football evaluations and workouts with the fourth graders at Brookhaven Elementary.
Kids interested in playing worked out throughout the summer in the green space that sits between Lipsey and Moyer Field as participation numbers had approximately 80 players coming out.
Once school started back, the players were divided up into teams after working out as a whole group during the first few weeks of August.
The Red Team was coached by Dr. Justin Estes and the Navy Team was coached by Lance Newman.
In the finale on Tuesday, William Brown will lead his White Team (3-2) against the Gray Team (4-0-1) and coach Alonzo Cameron.
The league is completely volunteer run and has been headed up Lipsey parent Juliana Adams. The cost of uniforms and other league expenses were offset by the support of local businesses, says Adams.
“I’d like to thank Anointed Nephrology, Bank of Brookhaven, Junior Auxiliary of Brookhaven, King’s Daughters Medical Center and Toyota of Brookhaven for their sponsorship and support this season,” said Adams. “I’d also like to thank BPD officers Willie Gayten and Tecompsha Warren for providing security during our games.”
Longtime Alexander head football coach Jesse Terrell oversaw the competitive aspects of the league as commissioner and officials McNair Smith and Sarah Fleming have called the games each week with an eye on teaching rules while also enforcing them.
Pregame festivities include a pep rally at the school on Tuesday ahead of the big game.