NATCHEZ — The 9 and 10-year-old Natchez Falcons football team will play on the grandest stage of their young lives Thursday.

The Falcons will suit up and hit the field in the Superdome during halftime of the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens preseason game. Before hitting the field, the Falcons will dress in the Saints’ locker room and get to interact with New Orleans’ players.

“The kids are so excited,” said Falcons head coach Darryl Smith. “This will be the first time a lot of them get to see an NFL game, and the parents are just as excited as they are.”

Smith said the opportunity arose from the Falcons’ affiliation with the TNT Youth Football League. He said that TNT and the Saints have ties, and every year, the Saints pick two teams to play in the Superdome. The Falcons were chosen because they were one of the first teams that had its coaches certified for concussion awareness.

“It was like a reward type deal,” Smith said.

The players will sit on the Saints’ sideline for the first half of the game before taking the field in a small scrimmage. Each team will get to run 10 plays on the turf, before the Saints and Ravens march back onto the field for the second half.