High School Football Rivalry a Texarkana Tradition
Published Feb 28, 2008
Nothing is bigger in this corner of Texas than high school football on a Friday night.
On one Friday night every year, it is not a state line that divides Texas and Arkansas, but a line of scrimmage.
One of the nation’s greatest high school football rivalries plays out in the late summer in Texarkana when Texas and Arkansas high schools knock heads.
The contest pits two of each state’s best teams playing before nearly 10,000 fans, either in Texas or four miles away at Arkansas High School.
The game doesn’t have playoff or conference ramifications. Winning is its own reward.
“There are no implications on the season,” says Van Alexander, a former Texas High School Booster Club president. “It’s just for bragging rights.”
Bragging rights had to be shared in 2007, as Texas’ six-year run of victories was semi-snapped when the two teams played to a 17-17 tie. Texas will keep possession of the Battleaxe, the tangible prize for winning the game.
The Texas Tigers and Arkansas Razorbacks often use the game as a springboard to success. Texas finished the 2006 regular season undefeated, while Arkansas bounced back from its 2006 loss to Texas to win the state’s Class 6A championship.
“Both schools have had tremendous success,” says Alexander, who also served as a city councilman on the Texas side of the line. “We’re blessed to have so much football talent in our city.”
The rivalry doesn’t simply begin with the kickoff. Preparations start early on both sides of State Line Avenue.
In Texas, Tiger boosters hold a breakfast bacon fry, a not-so-subtle suggestion of what the squad has planned for the evening’s game with the Razorbacks. With Tiger meat not available in most local groceries, Arkansas counters with a pep rally featuring Orange Crush and Tiger Tails (orange doughnut twists).
While the rivalry may have brought out a bit of orneriness in the past, with “more eggs sold than for Easter,” the current version is mostly a good-natured event.
“It really brings both cities together,” says Genia Bullock, community involvement and public relations coordinator for Texarkana Arkansas Independent Schools.
Story by Dan Markham
Photo by Wes Aldridge
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