It has only been called Kelly Memorial Stadium since the season opener of the 1965 season. 
For its first four seasons, it was usually called Gamecock Stadium (or the “local stadium”) by the Sylvania Telephone. Whatever the name, when Screven County High School and Effingham County High School kickoff at 7:30 Friday night it will mark the beginning of the 50th season of football at the current location. It will mark the 13th time the Roosters and Rebels have met on this field. It is just the second-ever season opener (2004) between the two played here. Over time, the locals own a 7-4-1 advantage over the Rebs here. 
That advantage is 9-2-1 down the road.
After 12 seasons that saw SCHS play at Cail Field, the 1961 season brought with it two exciting features, a veteran team expected to have a great season and the opportunity for that team to play on a brand new field. It was called “one of the better high school stadiums in the area” with “permanent seats for 1,800” and “one of the most modern of any high schools in this section.”
Multiple times throughout the summer there were pictures in the Telephone showing the progress of the construction. There was even a picture of players helping to place concrete bleachers in place.
That first season that team lived up to expectations with a 10-0 regular season that included home wins over Allendale S.C., Butler, Camden County, Statesboro and Dublin. Of course, the Allendale game of Sept. 8 was the first ever played in the stadium.
In the Feb. 26, 1965, edition of the Telephone it was announced that a name was being sought for the field. The letterman’s club (S Club) sponsored a contest whereby students submitted possible names for the field. An independent committee of community leaders, civic clubs and school personnel narrowed the list down to three. The Board of Education took those three and made a decision.
Rosalyn Kirkendohl and Sally Robinson of the S Club made the suggestion of Kelly Memorial Stadium and the BOE approved it from the three choices. For readers not informed, Kelly referred to Maj. Charles L. Kelly, a Sylvania High School graduate, who was killed in action in South Vietnam on July 1, 1964.
Kelly was an Army helicopter pilot and commanding officer of the 57th Medical Detachment. He was killed while trying to evacuate a wounded American advisor along with several South Vietnamese soldiers. He was posthumously awarded the U.S. Army’s Distinguished Service Cross, South Vietnam’s Cross of Gallantry with Palm and the National Order of Vietnam, Fifth Class, the highest honor for the country of South Vietnam.
Between 1961 and 2009, the SCHS home record is 154-105-8. That includes a 140-98-8 regular season record. The past two decades were unprecedented for the success of the teams playing in what some also call “The Coop.” The 1990s teams were 40-15-1 (71 winning percentage) and the just completed decade was 42-18 (70 percent). The first two were the worst with the 1970s record being 21-27-3 (41 percent) and the 1960s going 20-22-4 (43 percent).
There have been undefeated seasons at home (1961, 1996, 2002 and 2006) and there have been winless seasons at home (1965 and 1978). There were nine wins at home during the state championship season of 2002 and seven the previous season as well as 1994. The state playoff record at Kelly is 11-5, while the region playoff record is 3-2. Season openers at home-and-home openers overall do not reflect a tremendous advantage for SCHS. In home openers, the Gamecocks are 27-21-1 over the past 49 seasons. In season openers at home, the Gamecocks are just 9-14-1.