EVANS, Ga. (WJBF) — For a few hours, a hot summer day in June felt like a high school football Friday at Lakeside High School.
Over 100 1st through 8th graders flooded the Lakeside football field Friday night in the first Gridiron Greatness Football Clinic. A one-day clinic put on by former Augusta-area football stars and current NFL coaches Brian Bratton and Brandon Lynch.
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The two were former rivals in high school, Bratton playing for Lakeside and Lynch for Hephzibah. They now compete against each other as NFL coaches for the Indianapolis Colts and Cleveland Browns, respectively. But it was a natural thing for them to team up and give back to their hometown football community.
“We came up with this idea on the sidelines two years ago when the Colts played the Browns,” Bratton said. “And I said, ‘let’s go back home and do something,’ and here we are. We talked about it during the [NFL] Combine this year, and we finally put it together and said we’re going for it, and here we are.”
Lynch says he wants to help promote the game of football in Augusta more.
“It’s an area rich with talent,” Lynch said. “There’s guys that really need opportunity. There’s guys that really need to be on the forefront so they can really be on stage. We really want to give these guys the first platform to understand what it means to be tough and competitive.”
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Lakeside head football coach Brett Johnson says he’s hopes it becomes an ongoing thing.
“I told Brian before this event, I want to make this an annual thing,” Johnson said. “This is how you get people excited about football in the area, and even here at Lakeside High School.”
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