New to the North Georgia area is a semiprofessional football team called the Appalachian Raiders, who play most of their home games at White County Middle School.
The Raiders, who reside in the National Development Football League (NDFL), are coached by Bobby Jones, a longtime Stephens County Parks & Rec worker of more than 24 years, and a retired police lieutenant for 30 years. The Appalachian Raiders‘ 2017 slate consists of 10 games, with playoffs slated from mid-May to early June.
The season officially runs from March 4 – June 1, with all games slated for Saturdays. The home games are all currently tabbed for a 4 p.m. start (with the exception of the opener), while the away games are not yet announced for game time.
The Raiders kick off their first season Saturday, March 4 with a 5 p.m. contest against the Georgia Wolves at the Stephens County Recreation Department (199 Hayley Dr., Toccoa, GA 30577). The cost is $10 for those over the age of 4, and 3-under are free. Ten-percent of the proceeds are donated to the Boys and Girls Club of Hall County for each home game.
The NDFL is a southern development league consisting of teams from Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee. The league’s purpose is to “elevate the deserving athletes to the collegiate or professional level of competition. League management believes that a developmental league, such as the NDFL, can successfully bridge the gap from the high school level to the college level and it can also enhance the collegiate athlete who has completed his college career and propel him to either the CFL, an Arena football team or to the professional European Football League.”
The Raiders are owned by Korentheus Bailey and two others, Brent Dorsey and Deshawn Jones. Bailey played football at East Hall and in college ball at Western Kentucky & Georgia Southern. Dorsey is from White County and Jones is from Stephens County.
