A new church sponsored student event called Fifth Quarter will give students a safe place to have fun after every home football game for the rest of the season.

“I think it’s going to be wonderful,” said Trish Church, the ministry assistant of the Ashe Baptist Association. “We’re trying to set up a safe environment for kids to come together and socialize.”

Fifth Quarter will begin after every high school home football game and end sometime around midnight. This Friday, the inaugural meeting will take place at Midway Baptist Church. Afterwards, all of the meetings will be held at Faith Fellowship Baptist Church.

While there, students will be able to watch movies and play games. Some students will be playing live music, singing and dancing. Students who attend will be treated with free food and a free t-shirt.

This project is a collaborative effort between several different local churches and is headed by the Ashe Baptist Association.

Tara Miller, a counselor for Ashe County High School, said this project was developed because there are no large youth groups in the county to put together events for young people. She also said Ashe County’s youth need a positive place to go and have fun after home football games.

“It will give students something fun to do after football games besides going home or camping,” said student Josh Reavis.

There will be several volunteer chaperones at Fifth Quarter, giving parents some peace of mind. Even though the event isn’t limited to high school students, middle school students must have a chaperone.

This concept has already been attempted for middle school students at Warrensville. In spite of its decentralized location, it still drew a crowd of around 50 young people per week.

The event worked well with middle school students, but may be different since high school students can drive, giving them the freedom to go where they want after football games.

A number of Ashe County’s students are involved in several church oriented programs. One such program is a high school student club called Campus Crusade, formally known as Fellowship of Christian Athletes. That club currently has around 30 students attending club meetings.

“Hopefully, it will draw a crowd,” said student Mckayla Church of Fifth Quarter. “I think it is a good thing that will have a positive impact.”