Battle of Potato Creek a great rivalry

By Walter GeigerJust about everything that makes high school football great will be on display Friday night at Trojan Field in Barnesville when the Lamar County Trojans host the Pike County Pirates in the annual Battle of Potato Creek.Like the Hatfields vs. the McCoys, this football rivalry has blossomed into a blood feud. While they have mutual respect one for the other, the Pirates and Trojans don’t like each other much. That means maximum effort and hard hitting will be on display on the artificial turf.The cheerleaders will be into it. The two bands with their highly contrasting styles will also be amped up. It’s a big game with a big game atmosphere. The coaches at both schools know this and they will make sure their players are ready. And, yes, the fans are into it as well. It will be a sellout, standing room only crowd for sure. The place will be loud and raucous and that is how it should be for such a game.The Trojans, riding an influx of top level talent, have won five games in a row. But, they struggled in the first half of their opener last week against the Howard Huskies that ended in a 19-19 tie. The Pirates were off and their coaches were at Trojan Field in force scouting Lamar for this week’s game.Lamar is over its opening game jitters. This will be the opener for the Pirates so the Trojans have a little edge there. Make no mistake about it, Pike fans are adamant that this is the year the streak ends and there will be a lot of trash talk in the days leading up to the big game and on the field Friday night.Pike, by some statistical freakishness, is now a AAAA school while Lamar is still in AA.The Pirates play in a far tougher region than the Trojans. The coaches could let this rival game slide but they haven’t and the fans and players are thankful.It’s a great game pitting two proud schools against each other.There’s no place I’d rather be than the sidelines when this kickoff approaches. Come out and support your team and this great rivalry. Walter Geiger is editor and publisher of The Herald Gazette.