First announced at its annual Spring Sports Banquet back in May, the Midway High School Athletics Department is set to honor former coach Tommy Sloan. In a statement released on the school’s social media accounts, there will be a ceremony held at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 31, just prior to the start of Raiders home football game against West Braden.
According to Midway High School principal Monty Strickland, a sign will be unveiled at the entrance of the stadium bearing Sloan’s moniker. Connie Godwin and W.H. Calcutt were key figures in spearheading the proposal and it is expected that several former players will be in attendance for the tribute.
Sloan is well known not just in the Midway community but also across the county and even the state. He is arguably the most storied coach in Midway athletics history.
Sloan coached at Midway from 1973 to 1998 and again from 2009 to 2013. He compiled a record of 214-127 and led the Raiders to a State 1A Football Championship in 1978 and a State Runner-up finish in 1988. He also coached baseball for Midway and led that team to a State Championship in 1981.
Prior to moving to their new location across U.S. Highway 421 in 2008, the Raiders played Friday Night Lights on the storied Walter J. Ragan Field, another key name in Midway’s athletic history. Since then, however, the current facility has simply been dubbed “Raider Stadium.”
The new sign, however, will welcome fans to Tommy Sloan Stadium.
While Sloan certainly left a legacy at Midway High School the Sloan name is set to live on under those bright Friday lights in Sampson County.
Tommy’s son Barrett Sloan will be the new head football coach at Lakewood beginning this fall after having spent the past two seasons at Triton High School as an assistant offensive coach.
