Buck Creek Baptist Church, Fairmount Baptist Church, and Brooks Baptist Church are coming together as one to host a flag football tournament Saturday, Dec. 4.
The event will be held at Bobby Dye Stadium in Red Level. Registration is scheduled for 9 a.m., and teams will be formed at 9:30 a.m. 7-on-7 games are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.
“We created this event as an outreach to not only the students who attend our churches but also to those without a church background and aren’t attending a church. We want them to be able to fellowship with the other youth in their community and have a good time. It will allow them to see that there are people in the community who love and care for them,” Buck Creek Student Minister Michael Butters said.
Butters met with Fairmount Student Pastor Steve Bailey in September to put together a 5th Quarter event. “It was the first one the town of Red Level has seen since 2017. We were discussing other things we could do to engage the youth in the community,” he said.
He added that it is no secret the town and community have been through a lot in the past two years. “We want to grow our town and community together, especially the youth students and want to show them they are loved and cared about. We know the only way to accomplish that is through the unchanging and everlasting love of Christ.”
The event rules will model those of USA Flag Football. Games are played on a 40-minute continuous clock with two 20-minute halves. The clock stops for timeouts or injuries only but may be stopped at the discretion of officials. Halftime is five minutes.
Each time the ball is spotted, a team has 30 seconds to snap it. Teams will receive one warning before a delay-of-game penalty is enforced. Each team is allotted one 30-second timeout per half but will not be given any in overtime.
Similar to other leagues, a touchdown counts as six points. Teams may elect for one of two options for the PAT: a one-point PAT pass from the 5-yard line and two-point run or pass play from the 10-yard line. Safeties are worth two points.
Captains from both teams will meet at midfield for the coin toss. The winner of the toss will choose offense or defense, while the loser decides which direction to play from. The team on defense in the first half will begin the second half on offense.
The offensive team has four plays to get the ball from its own 5-yard line to cross midfield and then four additional plays to score a touchdown. Crossing midfield is the only opportunity for an offense to gain a first down. If the offense fails to score or cross midfield, the team on defense starts its own drive from the 5-yard line. If the defense intercepts the ball, a defensive player can attempt to return it until down, out of bounds, or possession of the ball is lost.
Butters said he and Bailey hope to reach the hearts and minds of teenagers in the area.
“We want them to be aware that people in the community care for them, love them, and want to be a part of their lives. More importantly, we want them to know Christ loves them and desires a relationship with them.”
There will be a devotional given during halftime with Kevin Bond speaking. He is a former student of Red Level School and 2002 graduate of Straughn High School. He is the head coach of Kinston High School’s JV football team and the linebackers coach on the varsity team. Bond currently serves as the pastor of Refuge Church in Opp.
Admission will be a Full Tummy of Covington County approved food item. Items on that list include Beanee Weenee cans, Vienna sausage, ravioli cups, fruit cups/applesauce, granola bars, peanut butter crackers, Slim Jims, cereal cups, trail mix, and Pringles. “We want to keep this cashless, if at all possible,” he said.
Tasty Treats and More will have a food truck on-site to serve as concessions.
Bailey graduated from Red Level High School in 1981. After high school, he served in the United States Navy and is now retired. He has served as the youth pastor at Fairmount Baptist Church since 2018.
Butters attended Opp High School and has served as youth pastor at Eden Fellowship Church in Opp, youth pastor at New Chapel Baptist Church in Kinston, and interim pastor at Victory Baptist Church in Andalusia. He was licensed and ordained at Buck Creek in 2020 and has served as student minister since August.
“I think I can speak for Steve and myself when I say that we both enjoy interacting with our students and building relationships with them,” he said. “We love seeing them seek Christ and the lost come to salvation.”
For more information call Buck Creek Baptist Church at 334-469-5705 or Fairmount Baptist Church at 334-469-5622.
“We pray the town and community will come together to support and accomplish our goal,” Butters said.
Travis Burnett
A pioneer in the flag football community, Travis helped co-found the Flag Football World Championship Tour, FlagSpin and USA Flag. Featuring 15+ years of content creation for the sport of flag football, creating and managing the largest flag football tournaments on the planet, coaching experience at the youth and adult level as well as an active player with National and World Championship level experience.
