Stephens Co. to Join New Youth Football League

Stephens County will join a new league for its Recreation Department football next season.

Earlier this month, the North Georgia Youth Football Association voted to accept Stephens County and Franklin County for next season.

Stephens County Recreation Director Richard Adams updated county commissioners on the switch at their meeting on December 13.

He said he is pleased with how everything has gone.

“I appreciate very much your support in allowing me to do this and I think it will make our department better,” said Adams.

Adams said they are still finalizing the alignments for scheduling purposes for next season.

He had been given the go-ahead by county commissioners to apply for membership in the North Georgia Youth Football Association in October.

This came after Efrem Thornton requested at the October 11 meeting that Stephens County look at switching to the league that also includes teams from Habersham, Rabun, Banks, and Jackson counties, to name a few.

Adams said he went to the North Georgia Youth Football Association games in the Fall and came away very impressed with what he saw.

He said the games are played on the high school fields and admission would have to be charged, which was a point of concern for commissioners.

However, Adams said that did not seem to be a problem for those he talked to in the league, including many Recreation Departments.

Also, he said that the high school is fully supportive of joining the new league.

This move only affects football and cheerleading. No other sports at the Recreation Department are affected by the change.