Alumni, fans give team final sendoff
Barron Stadium hosts the last pep rally of the season for the Rome Wolves on the eve of their state championship game.
The home stands at Barron Stadium got to host Rome High football fans one last time Thursday night as a community pep rally was held for the team.
A loyal group of a few hundred fans braved the dropping temperatures to come out and show their support for the Wolves before they load up and travel to Atlanta today for the Class 5A state championship game against Buford.
Thursday’s sendoff came just after the team completed its final practice of the season, and former players for both Rome and East Rome were on hand to add their support.
The team heard from current Atlanta Braves minor leaguer Stephen Gaylor, who was a defensive back at Rome from 2006-2009, and Toryan Smith, a standout linebacker at Rome from 2002-2005 who went on to play at Notre Dame.
Speaking as former East Rome Gladiators were Tom Caldwell, who is the chief deputy for the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office, and Charles Smith, who played at Georgia and has been an assistant coach for the Rome team. The evening ended with local rapper T Wade Montana performing his song “Rome to the Dome,” which has become the team’s motto throughout the playoffs.
If ticket presales are any indication, the Wolves should feel quite welcomed for their first time playing in the Georgia Dome.
Rome High sold out of its allotment of 3,000 tickets by Thursday afternoon. But tickets are still available through Ticketmaster and at the Georgia Dome today.
This weekend’s eight GHSA state
championship football games will be the final high school football games played in the Georgia Dome, as it is scheduled for demolition
sometime next year.
The title games will move right next door next season to the new Mercedes Benz Stadium.