Rome (Georgia) cancels first game versus Creekside in the aftermath of bus crash

Several players were injured in the bus crash that occurred late Thursday night of last week after a preseason scrimmage against Rockmart

Rome has officially cancelled its first game of the season against Creekside this Friday, which was apart of the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic / Rome High School Football/Facebook

The Rome Wolves, who are ranked No. 21 in the SBLive Georgia Power 25 preseason rankings have cancelled their opener against Creekside in the aftermath of a bus crash that took place last week, injuring several football player, according to a report by Atlanta News First.

Instead, the Wolves will kickoff their season next week against Carrollton, the state's No. 3 ranked team.

“We obviously want to play the game if possible, but after the players were evaluated by physicians we realized that it was not in their best interest to suit up and play on Friday. We hope everyone understands this measure, but the safety of our student-athletes comes first,” Rome head coach John Reid said per the report.

“We want to thank the organizers of the Corky Kell Dave Hunter Classic for understanding, and we want to thank the community for all the prayers and support you have offered us after the incident on Thursday,” Reid added. ‘’We had a bus roll over four times with all our quarterbacks and the first- and second-team offense on it, and right now we’re still assessing the degree of injury and concussion protocols. Many of these kids have suffered what you’d suffer when you think about rolling a bus three, four times going 60 mph. So with that said, it’s pretty much a no-brainer to cancel the game.’’

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Top 25 Georgia high school football preseason rankings (8/7/2024)

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Per Rome City Schools (Georgia) last week, a school bus carrying football players fromRome High School was involved in a collision with another vehicle late Thursday evening. The crash caused the bus to flip on its side, before it skid across the road, knocked down a utility pole and got entangled with power lines. The accident occurred while the team was returning to its school campus following a preseason scrimmage against Rockmart late Thursday night.

According to a report by Fox 5 Atlanta, the crash occurred shortly before 10:30 p.m. on Highway 101 near Doc Moates Road and Old Rome Road. That is about 2 miles northwest of Aragon. Local residents in the area told the station they witnessed the bus colliding with another vehicle, which was forced down an embankment, while the bus overturned and plowed into the utility pole. The accident knocked out power to more than 500 customers of Georgia Power.

The report further stated that 11 patients were transported to the Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center. The group included two adults and nine students and everyone is expected to recover from their injuries, according to hospital officials. Douglas Sutherland, a resident who heard the crash and scurried to the scene to help the victims escape the bus, described the injuries he saw.

Rome finished 11-2 last season in AAAAAA, falling to eventual state champion Thomas County Central 19-16 in the third round of the playoffs.

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivega