Dec. 14, 2009

Warriors, Tigers to renew long-dormant football rivalry

Staff Reports

As if there will not already be enough excitement when Cherokee County first takes the field to begin defense of its Class 4A state championship, the Warriors have reached verbal agreement with the Cedar Bluff Tigers to meet on the football field for the next two seasons.

The opening game of the 2010 season will be the first meeting between the two schools since 1951.

The Warriors will be playing in a new region next fall, and games on the road against Butler (101 miles), Fairview (87 miles) and North Jackson (70 miles) could put a strain on the team's typical travel budget. Playing a nearby opponent can really help save money in tough economic times.

Cherokee County head coach Tripp Curry told The Post the decision to renew the series made sense for both teams.

“We're looking forward to it,” Curry said. “It cuts travel costs and provides a great sports venue for Cherokee County.”

Cedar Bluff Principal Bobby Mintz said the opportunity for the Tigers to renew a rivalry that has laid dormant for 59 years came about because a regional realignment by the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) resulted in longtime opponent Sand Rock relocating into a nine-team region.

As a result of having to add an extra region game to the '10 schedule, Sand Rock was unable to continue its annual match against Cedar Bluff, which has been played since Sand Rock resurrected its football program in 1965.

“It was something we could not do anything about, it just didn't work out,” Sand Rock head coach Russell Jacoway said. “We are hoping we will be able to put Cedar Bluff back on our schedule after the next region realignment in 2012.”
AHSAA revisits its classifications every two years in an attempt to ensure that similarly-sized schools compete against each other.

According to the Alabama High School Football Historical Society website (www.ahsfhs.org), Cedar Bluff won its first three games against the Warriors, from 1935-37.

After playing to a 0-0 tie in 1938, the Tigers lost the next three to the Warriors over an eight-year span from 1939 to 1946. Following another scoreless tie in '48, Cherokee County reeled off three lopsided wins from 1949 to '51 before the series was discontinued.

Mintz said despite the disparity in the size of the two schools – Cedar Bluff is classified 1A by the AHSAA and Cherokee County is 4A – the decision to renew the series made sense financially.

“We have reached an agreement to split the gate,” Mintz said. “It was really an economic decision.”

Next year, the game will kick off the season for both teams and will be played at Bobby Joe Johnson Field in Centre.

“We will probably play both games there because of the larger crowd they can hold,” Mintz said. “That is, unless we get a new stadium, which is in the planning stages.”

Mintz said blueprints for an overhaul of L.D. Bruce Field call for swapping the home and visitor sides and constructing a new press box and seating area on the small, sloped hill that sits behind where the visitor's bleachers are now.

So far, the two schools have only verbally committed to play. A formal contract will be signed in the coming weeks.