After a three-year hiatus, the Chehalis Activators Middle School Football Classic series is set to return with games at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 18 at Bearcat Stadium in Chehalis.
The Chehalis Middle School Wildcats will take on the Centralia Middle School Yellow Jackets in a pair of games. Kickoff for seventh graders will be at 6 p.m. and the eighth graders will play at 7:30 p.m.
The cost of admission is $7 per family, $3 per adult and $2 per student. Proceeds benefit middle school sports in Chehalis.
“This is a really cool game because it is a chance for middle school players to get to play on the big field under the lights just like the high schoolers,” Chehalis School District spokesperson Carrina Stanton wrote in an email to The Chronicle.
JT Eklund is the announcer for the event and he tries to make sure that every kid's name gets said over the loudspeaker at least once during the game, Stanton said.
The games were not played in 2020 or 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions. The game was canceled again in 2022 due to wildfire smoke, so this year marks a return of the annual Twin Cities tradition.
Like the spring golf tournament and track meet, this event is a fundraiser for the nonprofit Chehalis Activators. All proceeds support Chehalis Middle School sports teams. In the last 10 years, the Activators have given more than $150,000 to middle school sports, including purchasing all team uniforms and equipment such as football helmets and wrestling mats, and buying and installing the middle school field bleachers.
