For 20 years, the players of a Marietta high school's football team have taken to the field to honor the life of one of their former players and raise money for a worthy cause. 

On Friday, Pope High School will host the school's 20th annual Matt Hobby Classic football game. The game supports Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research, which is also celebrating its 20th year in operation.

The game honors Pope football Matt Hobby. In 2003, Hobby was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer that targets the cells in and around bones.

Hobby died on May 30, 2006, just days after he graduated. Before his death, he asked his parents to keep raising money to support research so "little kids with cancer get the chance to live."

That request grew into a massive fundraising effort known as 4 Quarters 4 Research. Spare change collected during the annual game is donated to the Rally Foundation to support research into safer and more effective treatments for childhood cancer.

In 2024, the event raised more than $33,000, bringing the total raised in 19 years of football games to over $450,000. The idea of 4Q4R has spread to other schools around the country, raising even more money for cancer research.

"It proves that Matt's legacy of hope and generosity is still changing lives 20 years later," said Dean Crowe, founder and CEO of Rally Foundation. 

The Matt Hobby Classic takes place at 7 p.m. on Friday at Pope High School on Hembree Road in Marietta.

You can learn more about 4 Quarters 4 Research here.