The Columbus High School basketball team will face some unusual competition Thursday.
The 6A state champions will take on the Possum Town Trotters at 6 p.m. in the Columbus High School gym. The game is sponsored by The Dispatch and benefits American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. Tickets are on sale at The Dispatch, online at cdispatch.com and will be available at the door for $5.
Last year, the game raised $3,000 for Relay for Life.
Both teams met for the first time last year. The Trotters fell to the Falcons 73-54.
This year, Columbus Mayor Robert Smith, who coaches The Trotters, said he’s feeling confident about his hand-picked team’s chances against the Falcons. He said the Falcons are young, but he thinks his team’s experience will help the Trotters come out ahead.
“A good coach doesn’t tell his secrets ahead of the big game, so I don’t plan to put it out there how we are preparing for the game,” Smith said. “I will only say that our opponents will know who we are when the contest is done. We know the secrets of the game and how to apply them.”
The mayor guaranteed a victory for The Trotters. The CHS boys basketball team won the 2016 division 6A state championship earlier this month.
This year’s Trotters team includes Steve Harris, Elmo Brown, James Lewis, Chad Altmeyer, Orlando Smith, Rashanti Harris, Jarvis Gunter, Michael Hall, Willie Whitfield, Rick McCullum, Richard Cannon and Joe Ellis.
The Trotters’ cheerleaders will be Barbara Bigelow, director of Main Street Columbus; Rhonda Sanders, community engagement officer with the Columbus Police Department; and Edwina Williams, aka, “Mother Goose.”
Former Columbus mayor Jeffery Rupp will be the game’s announcer.
Smith encouraged everyone to come out and watch Thursday’s game.
“This event is for a great cause and I encourage everyone to come out and attend,” he said. “Especially those who will cheer loudly for our team — we want them in the stands. Be ready for a great basketball game.”
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