Future Wildcats Night on Saturday

The Rabun County Recreation Department will hold “Future Wildcat Night” on Saturday, August 28, at Frank Snyder Memorial Stadium before the Rabun County High School varsity football game against Pace Academy.  This will be an exciting night, says Rabun County Rec Athletic Director Adam Dixon.  “Future Wildcat Night couldn’t have fallen on a better night, obviously it’s a TV game, it’s going to be exciting, it always is for Rec Night, it’s always exciting to have a home game, but we don’t normally play on Saturdays so that is a little bit of change for our kids and for our high school kids as well.  But, I do think our coaching staff at the high school level does a great job of not changing routine, keeping everything normal.  They probably haven’t mentioned that it is on TV to the players.  They probably haven’t mentioned that it is Saturday to the players.  So, Rec Night we’ve got all of our coaches and players hyped up.  It’s a little earlier because of the TV game and because of it being on a Saturday.  We play Pace Academy, which is a private school and always going to be a challenge when you play a private school.  When you come in, if you come in through one of the gates there at the high school, if you are a cheerleader or football player with your cheer stuff or football jersey, you get in free if you are a student at Rabun County Schools anyway, but they come in and they kind of tell you where to go.  The football players are allowed to watch the varsity Cats warm up at the end zone between 4:45-5:15pm.  The cheerleaders will sit in front of the Wildcat varsity cheerleaders during the game and then probably around the third quarter usually we send our cheerleaders down and the varsity girls will lead our little girls in a cheer or two and that’s one of the highlights of the night, of course, I have a daughter that’s a cheerleader, but being the AD here at the Rec Department seeing all those little girls out there on the track cheering with the big girls that is just an awesome thing.  The football players and cheerleaders will be recognized before the game.  So, after the Cat Walk down on the track, the coaches, players, and cheerleaders, we will meet at the Rock down there about 5:20pm.  Then the announcer will introduce the football players, cheerleaders, and coaches.  Then they will make their round around the track.  To me, that’s the highlight of the night.  These kids really don’t get a lot of glory on Rec days because they are consumed in playing their game and they don’t get to soak all that in but when they are out there at the high school field, I think it gives them the opportunity to feel what it is like to be one of the big Wildcats and that’s why we call it Future Wildcat Night.  We just enjoy it every year.  We’re blessed and we love the fact that the high school coaches make a big deal out of it.  They will have the players come through our little players and give them high-fives.  I think it gets our big guys pumped up, honestly.  So, it’s a great night.”  After the future Wildcats are honored, the varsity Wildcats host Pace Academy at 6pm with the game being televised on ESPN2 and of course, broadcast on SKY 96.3FM.