South Warren quarterback Cody Eblen carries the ball for a touchdown Oct. 7 during South Warren’s 34-7 win over Warren East at South Warren.

For one night in August, all four Warren County public high school football teams will be under the same Saturday night lights.

The Warren County Board of Education announced Tuesday the inaugural Citizens First Bowl at Western Kentucky University’s Houchens-Smith Stadium that will feature Warren East, Greenwood, Warren Central and South Warren on Aug. 26.

It’s the first time that all four Warren County public high school football teams will play in a bowl together on the same night.

South Warren will play Warren Central at 5 p.m. that Saturday and Warren East vs. Greenwood will kick off at 8 p.m. in the second weekend of the prep football season.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for our student athletes, first and foremost, to play in front of what we hope is going to be a big crowd at a great facility,” Greenwood football coach Chris Seabolt said. “It’ll be a different setting and a different feel to it. That’s the most important thing. It gives our kids an opportunity to do something that not everyone is going to get to do.”

Leachman Buick-GMC will be the presenting sponsor and Citizens First Bank is the official title sponsor. David Jaggers, general manager of Leachman Buick-GMC, and Todd Kanipe, President and CEO of Citizens First Bank, each presented all four head football coaches at a news conference in Diddle Arena with sponsorship checks totaling $20,000 for the first year of the bowl.

The Citizens First Bowl is contracted for two years with intentions of rescheduling the event again in 2019 when teams rework their schedules.

“It is an honor to be associated with this great event,” Jaggers said in a news release. “It is and has always been our philosophy to support our local schools and the kids and we hope that these games at WKU will provide another experience and memory for all that not only compete, but those who support kids as well.”

South Warren will play its first season in Class 5A and now joins the district with Greenwood and Bowling Green. The Spartans jumped from 4A and will go for their third straight win over the Dragons.

South Warren’s jump to a different class now allows the four teams to play the non-district weekend since the Spartans once shared a district with 4A’s Warren East and Warren Central.

The Spartans, Dragons and Raiders have played at WKU recently. South Warren has played twice in the Rafferty’s Bowl, the opening weekend annual bowl hosted by Bowling Green High School. The Spartans also won the Class 4A state title on Feix Field in 2015.

Warren East hosted Edmonson County at Houchens-Smith Stadium for a home game last year while its new stadium was being completed. Warren Central also hosted Owensboro in the 2015 season opener while its stadium was under renovation.

“My kids, when they first found out about it, they’ve been nothing but excited for the opportunity to play at Western,” Warren Central coach Joel Taylor said. “It kind of brings that reality to their dream of playing college football. It seems like it’s within reach. It gives them something tangible. These football coaches and the community support, they see that there’s something out there for them and they want us to be successful. It’s nothing but positive for the kids, for sure.”

In establishing this bowl game, all four schools are giving up one home game of gate money. The hope is that the event, mixed with sponsorships, will draw a large enough crowd to make up the difference and benefit all four schools.

“Warren County Schools is very appreciative of Citizens First Bank and Leachman Buick-GMC’s tremendous support of our student-athletes and it’s an honor to showcase our football talent on WKU’s campus with a bowl game to kick off the season,” WCPS superintendent Rob Clayton said in the release. “This is a wonderful opportunity for our four football programs and a very special event for our school communities.”{&end}