Arkansas Sports 360.com - July 2008 - (Page 60) HIGH SCHOOL Rivalries MICHAEL PIRNIQUE BATTLE OF THE BULLDOGS: Fayetteville’s Franco Broyles, from left, Cody Hammer and Springdale’s Bradley Little and Ladarius Eckwood are part of one of the state’s best rivalries. Two Rivalries That Stand Above The Rest Fort Smith Northside vs. Fort Smith Southside, Fayetteville vs. Springdale By Leland Barclay DOES IT GET ANY MORE BITTER than the South versus the North? Fort Smith’s civil war didn’t begin until 1965 when Southside played its first full season of varsity football. The Rebels and Grizzlies have played every year since then in the intra-city contest called the Battle of Rogers Avenue, named for the city’s main thoroughfare that was the original dividing line between the school districts. Northside leads the all-time series by a 27-16-2 count, but only by a narrow 17-16 edge over the past 33 years. The game holds playoff implications almost every year. Northside has 23 playoff berths since 1981 with two state playoff titles and 15 state championships in all. Southside has been to the playoffs 20 times with seven state titles since its first in 1983. What makes it a rivalry: The rivalry reached the pinnacle in 1987 when the two schools met in the state championship 60 ArkansasSports360.com July 2008 game of the state’s largest classification. Southside won the regular-season meeting in convincing fashion, 23-8. Northside, though, won when it mattered most in December, 27-7, at Little Rock’s War Memorial Stadium. The following year, the two schools again met in the championship game. Like the previous season, the team that lost the regularseason meeting, which was held in the final game of the regular season, turned the tables four weeks later. Northside rolled to a 30-3 win to cap the regular season before Southside won the state championship 7-6 on a blocked extra point. Fayetteville vs. Springdale If it does get better than the North versus the South, then it’s a good oldfashioned Dogfight. In the mid-1920s, both schools adopted Bulldogs as their nickname. In an urban legend that is unsubstantiated but passed down through the years, the two teams met in 1929 with the winner earning the right to keep the name while the loser had to pick another. The two teams played to a 0-0 standstill. In early December, the two teams met again to break a tie for the district championship between the two teams but supposedly also with the same wager about the nickname hanging in the balance. Again, the teams battled to a 0-0 tie, and the teams have been Bulldogs ever since. To differentiate between the two, however, it’s the Purple Bulldogs of Fayetteville and the Red Bulldogs of Springdale. The two teams began playing each other in 1908 and even played twice some seasons. They’ve met every year since 1923, marking the longest-running rivalry in the state. The 1984 game took on added significance when Springdale entered the game No. 1 in the state with a 9-0 record, and Fayetteville was No. 2 and also 9-0. Springdale prevailed 13-10 during a 13-game winning streak over the Purple Bulldogs. It does remain to be seen, however, how the split of Springdale into two high schools affects the Battle of Washington County. What makes it a rivalry: How about 111 meetings between the two schools? Not even the Hatfields and McCoys have had that many feuds. Few rivalries in the nation, high school or college, can boast 111 meetings. Springdale owns a 63-34-14 lead in the series. ❍ http://ArkansasSports360.com
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