ROME, Ga. — Football is more than just a sport in this city.

It’s a piece of history that lives in the hearts of the townspeople and embues the very streets and buildings.

It was a young man from Rome who nearly brought the sport to an end when his own life was cut short on the playing field. On Oct. 30, 1897, Vonalbade Gammon, a star fullback for the University of Georgia, took a snap and dashed against the defensive line from the University of Virginia.

He was struck in the head, rendering him unconscious. He died the next day just 18 years into his life.

When news spread about the violent new sport’s latest tragedy, lawmakers in Georgia and some of the surrounding states tried to outlaw the game.

A bill prohibiting the sport was passed, but before it could be approved by Georgia’s governor, one woman stood up against it.

It was the mother of Von Gammon himself, Rosalind Burns Gammon.

She wrote to Rep. James D. Nevin: “Grant me the right to request that my boy’s death should not be used to defeat the game that was the most cherished object of his life.”

Governor William Y. Atkinson read the letter and vetoed the bill, preserving the game in the Southern states.

The University of Virginia sent a plaque to UGA commemorating the life of Von and his mother, writing, “A mother’s strength prevailed.”

Rosalind Gammon became known as “The Woman Who Saved Football.”

And so, Rome’s ties to the sport have forever been linked. And, when Carroll College and the University of Sioux Falls (S.D.) step onto historic Barron Stadium, they will begin a new chapter in Georgia football.

They will be participating in the first national championship ever to be played on the green grass of The Peach State.

The two teams, battling for the 2008 NAIA national title, bring with them a sense of dynastic proportion to the game.

For the last six years, the championship trophy has belonged in one of two cities, homes to the Saints and Cougars.

From 2002 to 2005, Carroll brought it to Helena, by winning it an unprecedented four years in a row. After an early exit in the 2006 quarterfinals, the Saints reclaimed the top spot in the nation. They defeated Sioux Falls 17-9 in the 2007 title game in Savannah, Tenn.

Going 15-0 last year, they were the only undefeated collegiate football team in the nation and now have the longest active winning streak with 28 games.

Sioux Falls wants the trophy back. They stole it away from the Saints in 2006 when they defeated St. Francis (Ind.) in the final contest of the year. Suffering just one loss in three seasons, the Cougars are playing for the title for the third year in a row.

In a matchup of two Goliaths, the winner will walk away more than a champion, but the king of Georgia’s first title game.