Crossett vs Hamburg History

[Eddie Goodson]

These facts compiled by Outlaw67:

Some useless facts on Crossett -Hamburg from 1976-present..

1. Crossett lead the series 20-10 since 1976.
2. Most lopsided victory 46-0 Crossett 1978.
3. Most consecutive wins- 15, Crossett.
4. Biggest margin of victory for Hamburg, 22-0 in 1998.
5. Most consecutive victories by hamburg- 3.
6. Most total points scored by both teams, 70 in 1993 Crossett 42- Hamburg 28
7. Most shut outs , 5 by Crossett
8. Average score when Crossett wins , Crossett 25 -Hamburg 9
9. Ave score when Hamburg wins Hamburg 18- Crossett 6
10. Home team has won 18 times.
11. Visiting team has won 12 times.
12. Crossett has won 11 times at home and 9 times in Hamburg.
13. Hamburg has won 7 times at home 3 at Crossett.
14. Hamburg has had 6 coaches in 30 years.
15. Crossett has had 2 coaches in 30 years.

[Eddie Goodson]

Originally appearing in Gridiron 2001. Copyright 2001 The Ashley News Observer. By Heath Waldrop.

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As high school football rivalries in Arkansas go, it doesn’t get much more storied and time-honored than the Hamburg Lions vs. the Crossett Eagles.

The game has been played for so long that most people are hard-pressed to say when it started. As far as they know, there has always been the Ashley Bowl—and it’s always been bitter.

“We loved to play Hamburg,” said Robbie Featherston, a charter member of the Crossett High School Eaglettes who attended CHS in the early 1950s. “If we could beat Hamburg, we had it made. The bleachers would be packed; it was something that everyone did.”

In recent years the game has been toned down dramatically—the uglier side of rivalry has not shown itself, a tribute to the efforts of both communities and school systems—but make no mistake about it, each team places beating the other just behind winning a state championship on the priority list.

That has been true from the beginning.

“It was just as big a deal when I was in school as it is now...maybe bigger,” said Melissa Deason, a member of the Hamburg High School class of 1980. “It was a lot of fun. You always looked forward to that Crossett week.”

Proximity has a lot to do with it. The schools are the two largest in Ashley County and are just 15 miles apart.

“Because the towns were so close, and so many people from Hamburg worked in Crossett and there were so many other connections, it was really big,” according to Bill Norman, a long-time Crossett resident who was a high school sportswriter in the early ‘50s. “It was almost everything to us in sports. There was a lot of taunting and bragging when it came to that game.

“We were isolated in the ‘40s and ‘50s, so rivalries like this one were a big part of our entertainment. That’s why today, to some extent, it’s a bigger rivalry to some of the old timers than it is the current players.”

The rivalry takes on a decidedly new twist this season with the hiring of Greg Johnson as the head coach of Hamburg High. Johnson is the son of Ed Johnson, the former Crossett Eagle coach who made a habit out of beating HHS. Ed Johnson’s Eagles beat the Lions 15 consecutive times before losing five out of their last six meetings. Ed Johnson left coaching in 1998.

Young Greg Johnson stood on the sidelines through many of those meetings. He was a team manager while still in elementary school, even suffering a broken arm during one Crossett-Hamburg game when an Eagle tailback ran out of bounds and bowled him over. He went on to be a CHS assistant after college. He took over as offensive coordinator for Hamburg last season and on Friday will make his debut as head coach.

CHS head coach Teodis Ingram and Johnson are close friends, and each has voiced the opinion that he would love to see the other finish 9-1 on the season—the one loss coming on Sept. 7 when the teams meet at Yarborough Field.

The first question posed to Ingram during a recent public appearance was “Are we going to beat Hamburg this year?” Without hesitation, Ingram answered, “Yes.”

“Over the years, it’s been a great rivalry,” Hamburg school superintendent Bobby Harper said. Harper was a coach in the Crossett School District before going into administration at Hamburg in the mid-1970s. “It’s a healthy, yet competitive, environment. I’ve always been excited about it. I know what a big game means to an athlete because I’ve been there. There’s nothing like it. I’ve been a part of the game, on both sides, for 35 years, and they’ve all been exciting.

“In schools, you need a balance of extracurricular activities and academics. We have to have things to hold onto when we go through life. People remember those big games.”

Dale Hart was a left halfback for the Crossett Eagles and his star shone brightly in 1951, when he scored two touchdowns against Hamburg in helping lead the team to a 40-0 victory—he recalls the score instantly. One TD was of 91 yards, and it still stands as one of the biggest plays in the series.

“I remember the 91-yard touchdown very well,” Hart said. “I went right between the guard and tackle, who had opened a nice little hole. They were two friends of mine, Marion Thurman and Tommy Lee, and I think they prided themselves on opening holes for me.

“The football field at Crossett was also the baseball field, and I remember on that run that I crossed the pitcher’s mound and stumbled a little before I got it together.

“Those were pleasant years,” Hart continued. “Everything was clean and pure.”

Old fans and players on both sides look back on the rivalry’s long years with fondness. Laughter and warmth resonate conversations about pep rallies and pranks, touchdowns and trash talk.

Johnson’s move to Hamburg has created waves among Crossett players—many of whom he coached while still a part of the Crossett District—but it remains to be seen whether this event will make the rivalry more friendly, or more heated.

It will certainly change things—but that’s nothing new.

THE TURKEY DAY TILT

The early games of the Crossett-Hamburg rivalry were played on Thanksgiving Day, bowl-game style—the last meeting of the year for each team. The crowds were enormous, as large groups from each side would take breaks from holiday meals at home to gather mid-afternoon at the field.

“I can remember everyone rushing through the biggest meal of the year to get to the field,” Norman chuckled.

“It was not a turkey day,” said Hattie Mae Castleberry, a 1938 graduate of Crossett High School. “It was a football day.”

There is uncertainty, and some disagreement, about when the first Hamburg-Crossett football game was played. In 1983, the News Observer incorrectly reported that the rivalry was 36 years old; indications are that it goes back much farther than that. One of the earliest known printed records still in existence is a November 1931 account on the front page of the now-defunct Ashley County Leader newspaper. Juggernaut Hamburg, undefeated for two years, rubbed out Crossett 20-0.

The “Turkey Day Tilt,” as it was often called, was already at that point referred to as an annual event. The schools undoubtedly began playing each other at least as far back as the mid-1920s.

The early days made the rivalry what it became later, because the two schools traded up wins throughout the Depression and wartimes. In 1945 Hamburg spanked Crossett 39-0 in one of the largest margins of victory before 1950. An exceptionally good 1946 season carried over to Thanksgiving for the Eagles as they avenged that loss with a 28-13 win. Hamburg came back to blank CHS again in 1949, 25-0.

“Hamburg had the upper hand in some of those years,” Norman said. “They had some excellent athletes.”

Each side attempted to obtain every possible advantage. Hart recalled that one season in the 1940s, Hamburg coaches had watered down their field every day for a week prior to the Ashley Bowl. Their team practiced in the muddy turf all that week to grow accustomed to the mire. On game day, the field was soaked more.

“We still won the game,” Hart said.

Since the modern Arkansas playoff system didn’t begin until the ‘70s, and even structured conferences didn’t come about until after World War II, everything was unofficial. But the winner had football bragging rights in Ashley County until the next Thanksgiving, and for awhile, a trophy.

E.E. Lucky, a Crossett dry cleaner, sponsored a revolving award in the early ‘50s that was given to the winner of the annual game. If any team won two Ashley Bowl games consecutively, that team kept the trophy and a new one was presented the next Thanksgiving. It is not known exactly when this tradition began or ended; likely it petered out during Crossett’s decade of dominance.

After the 1949 HHS victory, beginning with back-to-back 40-0 blowouts to start off the prosperous ‘50s, Crossett did not lose the rivalry game for more than 10 years.

Jack Allen quarterbacked the Eagles’ Straight T offense both seasons. He also played in the defensive backfield and saw his senior season end with a busted lip in the Thanksgiving game in 1951, after returning his third interception.

“My cut lip is still there,” Allen said. “If I shaved my mustache you could still see the scar. We didn’t wear face guards at the time. I took a lick and it just laid my lip open.”

Allen was not too worse for wear, eventually going on to quarterback the T offense at Arkansas A&M College in Monticello (now known as the University of Arkansas-Monticello), though he was on basketball scholarship.

“I knew the old boy who hit me; he was a heck of a football player,” Allen said.

That has always been the case with the Hamburg-Crossett rivalry, Allen said: although the fans might not have been, the players were usually friendly off the field.

“The rivalry was big then,” Allen said. “It was always intense. The crowds were rowdy on both sides—not drunk and throwing whiskey bottles, but loud. We were all the best of friends after the ball game, but on the field it was fierce.”

“It was our biggest rivalry,” said Hart, a teammate of Allen’s. “I remember watching the game before I was high school age, and how exciting it was. I didn’t know anything about sports because my dad was just an old country boy. I’d never seen a sporting event like that. The players were like heroes.

“When I went to college I got to know some former Hamburg players really well.”

Pranks were common during the week leading up to the game, even in the socially-conservative years.

“One year [Hamburg students] put purple paint on our gym, and we were so mad,” Featherston said, laughing.

There were some very close contests—most notably a 6-6 tie in 1952—but Hamburg simply never got over the hump throughout the ‘50s. Things, however, would change.

With the advent of a structured regional athletics system in the state, the CHS-HHS matchup was no longer played on Thanksgiving Day after the early ‘60s, but was still usually the last game of the year.

After a solid decade of losses, Hamburg was fed up and finally broke through with a narrow 13-7 victory in 1961. The Lions would go on to win the next two seasons before another seven years of Crossett dominance leading up to the modern era of Arkansas high school football.

THE MODERN ERA

The only scoreless tie on record in the history of the Ashley Bowl occurred in 1971. The programs of both teams lacked a lot to be desired that season, which saw the annual game moved from late in the football year to early due to the more rigid, ever-expanding conference structure.

The Hamburg Lions, however, started seeing monumental success as the decade progressed, culminating in a 9-1 regular season in the bicentennial year of 1976. Fans on both sides refer to these as the Timmons and Duckworth years.

“Those were great years,” Harper said.

Benji Timmons was the Lion quarterback; Bobby Duckworth was a receiver who eventually played in the NFL.

“They were awesome,” Deason said. “It was like they could read each other’s minds. They were made to play together.”

Successful HHS programs put together four consecutive Ashley Bowl victories, beginning in 1973. But the rivalry faced dark times in the mid-’70s. What had begun with gamesmanship 50 years prior, leading to many incidents of mostly harmless pranks, had become ill and uncontrolled behavior between the two team’s constituents. Vandalism, rudeness and fights—not just among school children and not just at the game—had become too commonplace. After the ‘76 season, the Hamburg School Board decided to suspend the series with foe Crossett. The old 8AA Conference was due to expand, meaning one non-conference game would have to be dropped. The Crossett game was picked because of the troubles it had caused.

Johnny McMurray, then the head coach at Hamburg and currently the head coach at Monticello High School, said that the only thing his team really got out of the Crossett game each year was a hoarde of bumps and bruises. The opinion of the Hamburg School Board that the rivalry was “getting out of hand” was also supported by the Crossett School District.

Play was suspended for two years. Without the traditional rival on the schedule, the Crossett Eagles focused its attention to loftier goals. Ed Johnson was hired as head coach and in his first two seasons, the Eagles went 11-1 then won the Class AAA State Championship in 1978.

Play between the two programs resumed in 1979, but by that time, Johnson had built a locomotive that very few teams could stop. The Lions probably wished the rivalry had not resumed because what lay ahead were the worst years in Ashley Bowl history for the Purple Pride. Johnson’s Eagles recorded 15 consecutive wins over HHS.

The early ones were routes—46-0 behind Keith Kidd’s three touchdowns reintroduced the rivals to each other, followed by CHS victories of 31, 14, 18 and 21 points.

“I remember how disappointing it was that we lost our senior year,” Deason said.

Then came Crossett’s “miracle season” of 1984. Not picked to fare exceptionally well by the state’s pundits, the Eagles had a very slow start. It took a staunch defensive effort and a nearly unheard-of trick play callled by Johnson to beat the Lions in the third game of the season, 13-7.

Crossett went on that year to win its second state title.

Bryan Bailey, who hosts "The Ashley County Sports Report" on KAGH, was the pivot man in the trick play, a flanker pass that went for a touchdown.

“Hamburg was good, but we never worried about who we were playing,” Bailey said. “We wanted to win, but I don’t think we thought it was as much of a rivalry as everyone made it out to be. I don’t think it is as much of a rivalry now.

“We were all friends,” Bailey said of the Lions. “In college I ended up living with some of those guys.”

From the ‘84 game forward, half of the contests were decided by single digits, with 13 of 18 being decided by fewer than two touchdowns.

Still, it wasn’t until the ‘90s that Hamburg began to wrest control of the county’s biggest game from Crossett.

“In the mid-’80s, we could hardly win a game,” Harper said. “We finally got on track and have done well since then. I hope it doesn’t make our kids arrogant; we don’t have anything to be arrogant about because Crossett still leads the series by a large margin.

“It gives our boys a lift when they do win. Hamburg has always taken the philosophy that if it could compete with Crossett, it would have a good year.”

After play was suspended and then resumed, the pranks continued.

“I remember throwing eggs,” Bailey said.

“We always had to duck down under the seats when the bus left Crossett after the game because people would be waiting to throw things,” Deason said. “I’m sure that happened on both sides.”

The Queen Mother of all Ashley Bowl-related pranks is remembered well, and the story has been retold ad infinitum: Purple Marshmallows.

Before the 1982 game, from an airplane, a member of the HHS constituency showered First National Bank in Crossett with marshmallows dyed in purple in support of the Lions while CHS was holding its Spirit Week pep rally there.

“That was a huge mess,” Norman said. “As for pranks, that one will never be topped.”

Still, both schools and communities worked to keep the horsing around to a minimum. The student council at each school had parties together; gifts were exchanged; cookouts were held. Police escorts are now customary and heightened patrols around both towns during Spirit Week are common.

Friendships began happening again.

“A lot of those kids are friends,” Deason said of the players, “until they get on the ball field that one night.”

With the hiring of Mickey Moss at HHS in 1994, the Lions turned the corner, winning the Ashley Bowl in consecutive years and twice in 1997, their best ever season. Behind the state’s stingiest defense and a high-octane passing attack, Hamburg finished with the state’s best record at 13-1, the one loss coming in the Class AAA championship game.

Both Crossett and Hamburg competed against each other in the AAA Southeast for two seasons, but in ‘97, besides the regular-season game, the teams faced each other in the first round of the playoffs.

It was CHS’ last playoff appearance. Hamburg has been victorious in the Ashley Bowl six out of the last eight times.

This year promises a renewed interest in the rivalry, as each team’s connections to each other and to past glory are strong.

“It’s going to be fun,” said Hamburg sophomore cheerleader Carly Gwin. “We go all out. It’s something we look forward to every year.”

It’s something many look backward to every year, too.

[Eddie Goodson]

Highlights of the Ashley Bowl through the years. Originally appearing in Gridiron 2001. Copyright 2001, The Ashley News Observer. By Heath Waldrop.

1931: Lions 20, Eagles 0

The unofficial southeast Arkansas championship was at stake in the annual Thanksgiving Day matchup between the two teams, as Hamburg brought with it two consecutive undefeated seasons and Crossett was on a three-game win streak. Hamburg fullback Dingler Bates was the game’s star as he averaged 5 yards a carry and scored three touchdowns behind consistent Lion blocking. Ball control was the key as HHS had possession throughout the first quarter and never punted.

Hamburg finished with 13 first downs to Crossett’s four, three of which came late in the game after the outcome had already been decided. Quoting the Ashley County Leader, “Burt and Woods were the best for Crossett.”

The series was swayed in the Lions’ favor by one game with this win.

1950: Eagles 40, Lions 0

The era of Crossett dominance—which would last for more than 10 years—began with the lopsided victory. Three first-half touchdowns put the Eagles way out in front, as Gerald Hopper took it in from the 20 on the game’s second play, Jack Barrett caught a 24-yard TD pass and James Daniels returned a punt for a score. Daniels had an amazing afternoon, adding a second TD in the second half, hauling in an interception and saving a touchdown.

1951: Eagles 40, Lions 0

Merely one instance of several in the series with identical scores in succeeding years, the 1951 “Turkey Day tilt” was highlighted by the play of Crossett quarterback-defensive back Jack Allen. Allen snagged three interceptions but left the game early when his lip was cut running back the third. Halfback Dale Hart scored on touchdowns of 25 and 91 yards.

1952: Eagles 6, Lions 6

Crossett led throughout most of the game after scoring on what was described as a “sleeper” play. One Crossett player was active and on the field at kickoff but did not participate, in an attempt to fool the defense into thinking he was not actually in the game. The Eagles did not huddle after receiving the kick and the “sleeper” player was thrown a pass, which he took in for a 70-yard score. Hamburg, however, pulled out the tie with less than five minutes left in the game.

1957: Eagles 15, Lions 0

In one of many rain-soaked games in the series, CHS continued its winning streak by digging out a victory over Hamburg on the new Forest Field. Crossett’s season had already been beset by such problems, as four games had been postponed or canceled due to adverse weather or illness. Three different games were altered because opposing teams were facing flu epidemics.

1960: Eagles 32, Lions 6

All-State halfback Corky Corkern set the all-time Crossett rushing record for a season with 1,001 yards in leading the Eagles to victory.

1964: Eagles 7, Lions 6

One more in a long line of defensive struggles, the 1964 game saw Crossett scratch out its first Ashley Bowl victory in four seasons. The Lions held onto a 6-0 lead until midway through the third quarter when David Young hit Bill Meadows on a 30-yard touchdown pass, followed by Meadows’ extra point to seal the win. The game, no longer being played on Thanksgiving but still being played late in the year, finished off an otherwise-disappointing season for Crossett.

1966: Eagles 39, Lions 7

Continuing on the 10-year cycle that saw the Eagles have landmark seasons in 1946 and 1956, CHS went undefeated (despite a 0-0 tie with Camden) in ‘66 and won another 4AA title. The beating Crossett handed Hamburg was the worst one in the Ashley Bowl since 1955. David Smith blocked an HHS quick-kick and fell on it in the end zone for a touchdown to get things started. The lone Lion score was also made on a blocked punt and recovery. Key contributors included All-State running back Jesse Riley and John Pierce, who was declared the 4AA’s Outstanding Back.

1967: Eagles 14, Lions 0

In the first year of racial integration in the Crossett School District, the Lions were shut down and shut out with just two first downs, both on penalties. CHS All-District quarterback Tommy Holiman threw touchdown passes of 50 yards to slotback Wayne Dodson and 30 yards to Bob Carter.

1968: Eagles 7, Lions 6

Hamburg’s jinx continued with another one-point loss. The game was locked in a scoreless tie until 34 seconds remained, when Crossett scored after a 90-yard drive. Hamburg retaliated immediately when Jimbo Duke connected with Bill Timmons on a 55-yard touchdown pass with just nine seconds remaining, but the extra point attempt was wide.

1971: Eagles 0, Lions 0

The Ashley Bowl was moved to early in the season after it had been played late in the season since its debut. The 1971 game was the only recorded scoreless tie the series has ever known.

1976: Lions 14, Eagles 8

Arguably the greatest game ever played between the two teams was overshadowed by bad blood off the field. Hamburg came into the grudge match ranked first in Class AA football, not having been scored on in its previous two games. The Eagles had allowed just seven points while scoring 54 on offense. Two players who would later see NFL glory were in the game—HHS’ Bobby Duckworth and Crossett’s Jessie Clark.

On a messy September night at Campbell Field, the Eagles led 8-6 until less than two minutes were left, when Hamburg quarterback Benji Timmons sneaked in from the 1. A two-point conversion pass from Timmons to Duckworth provided unneeded insurance, and Hamburg was on its way to a 9-1 regular season and completed its fourth consecutive Ashley Bowl title.

The crowd was estimated to be more than 7,500; the heart-stopping finish left some unruly and several fights broke out in the stands, prompting some to label the chaotic scene “a near riot.” CHS head coach Carl Fox, whose tenure at Crossett was very short and ended with the ‘76 season, said afterward, “I’m not convinced that the best football team won the game.”

Hamburg School Board members, on recommendation from the athletic department, elected to suspend the series after this game.

1979: Eagles 46, Lions 0

It wasn’t a very pretty return to the Ashley Bowl for Hamburg. After suspending play between the teams for two years, the two districts elected to rekindle the rivalry. In the largest-ever recorded margin of victory in the series, Crossett—coming off the 1978 State Championship—lit Hamburg up with the talents of quarterback Bill Pierce and receiver Keith Kidd, both of whom signed with the University of Arkansas. Kidd, the all-everything multi-purpose performer, scored three touchdowns, including one of 64 yards.

1980: Eagles 34, Lions 3

Ed Johnson’s Eagles, in Johnson’s second meeting with Hamburg as head coach, continued to show their dominance en route to a 12-1 season, undefeated through the regular schedule. Tailback Roderick Kidd, younger brother of Keith, scored two TDs, one running and one receiving. The Lions spoiled the shutout only by hitting a field goal in the fourth quarter.

1993: Eagles 42, Lions 28

Treal Mitchell’s 235 yards and four touchdowns were not enough to put the Lions over their cross-county rivals. Still undefeated against the Lions under Ed Johnson, Crossett helped post the highest combined point total in the series’ recorded history.

1994: Lions 14, Eagles 6

The arrival of Mickey Moss at Hamburg High School marked the dawn of a new era in which the Lions have dominated the Ashley Bowl. Handing the Eagles their first-ever loss to the Lions under Ed Johnson, the difference maker was Tamichael Scott’s pass interception return for a touchdown and Shannon McKelvey’s blocked punt.

1997: Lions 13, Eagles 10 and Lions 22, Eagles 7

For the first time in series history, the two teams played each other twice—once in the regular season, a AAA Southeast Conference game for the teams; and once in the first round of the state playoffs. Coming into the first game, the Lions had been averaging 45 points an outing but were nearly upset by a pesky Crossett defense. In the second game, Hamburg tailback Daryl Stokes rushed for 201 yards to lead his team to victory and an eventual 13-1 season and state runner-up finish.

1999: Eagles 34, Lions 32

In one of the most memorable and closest games in the series, Crossett held on for victory in Teodis Ingram’s first Ashley Bowl as head coach. Latarrence Franklin piled up 217 yards and four touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough as defensive lineman Rylan Reed, an eventual University of Arkansas signee, stopped the tailback on a fourth-down attempt from the Eagle 5 with a couple of minutes remaining.

[Eddie Goodson]

Also Courtesy of Ashley News Observer, Heath Waldrop

ASHLEY BOWL SCORES SINCE 1950
1950 Crossett 40, Hamburg 0
1951 Crossett 40, Hamburg 0
1952 Crossett 6, Hamburg 6
1953 Crossett 45, Hamburg 0
1954 Crossett 33, Hamburg 12
1955 Crossett 39, Hamburg 6
1956 Crossett 40, Hamburg 19
1957 Crossett 15, Hamburg 0
1958 Crossett 19, Hamburg 0
1959 Crossett 18, Hamburg 0
1960 Crossett 32, Hamburg 6
1961 Hamburg 13, Crossett 7
1962 Hamburg 26, Crossett 0
1963 Hamburg 21, Crossett 14
1964 Crossett 7, Hamburg 6
1965 Crossett 27, Hamburg 13
1966 Crossett 39, Hamburg 7
1967 Crossett 14, Hamburg 0
1968 Crossett 7, Hamburg 6
1969 Crossett 38, Hamburg 0
1970 Crossett 22, Hamburg 3
1971 Crossett 0, Hamburg 0
1972 Crossett 13, Hamburg 7
1973 Hamburg 35, Crossett 27
1974 Hamburg 14, Crossett 7
1975 Hamburg 18, Crossett 17
1976 Hamburg 14, Crossett 8
1977 No game played
1978 No game played
1979 Crossett 46, Hamburg 0
1980 Crossett 34, Hamburg 3
1981 Crossett 20, Hamburg 6
1982 Crossett 27, Hamburg 9
1983 Crossett 21, Hamburg 0
1984 Crossett 13, Hamburg 7
1985 Crossett 14, Hamburg 7
1986 Crossett 7, Hamburg 0
1987 Crossett 16, Hamburg 0
1988 Crossett 22, Hamburg 3
1989 Crossett 20, Hamburg 16
1990 Crossett 28, Hamburg 10
1991 Crossett 14, Hamburg 6
1992 Crossett 23, Hamburg 8
1993 Crossett 42, Hamburg 28
1994 Hamburg 14, Crossett 6
1995 Hamburg 16, Crossett 0
1996 Crossett 14, Hamburg 7
1997 Hamburg 13, Crossett 0
Hamburg 22, Crossett 7
1998 Hamburg 22, Crossett 0
1999 Crossett 34, Hamburg 32
2000 Hamburg 20, Crossett 0

That's what I published in Gridiron 2001. Scores since 2001:

2001 Crossett 31, Hamburg 25
2002 Crossett 37, Hamburg 28
2003 Crossett 27, Hamburg 0
2004 Hamburg 28, Crossett 12
2005 Hamburg 20, Crossett 14
2006 Hamburg 17, Crossett 14
2007 Crossett 34, Hamburg 14
2008 Crossett 14, Hamburg 12
2009 Crossett 32, Hamburg 23

[heathwaldrop]

Ed always tried to play down the rivalry--read what he stated to me for this article in 1998, his final year as the CHS head coach--but I think that everybody knew that was hogwash. Mickey Moss had left HHS the year prior and trust me, there was no love between those two coaching staffs. I heard all the things that were said off of the record, from the junior-high sidelines on up. There was a genuine dislike on the part of the Crossett coaches for the Hamburg coaching staff. I'm not sure why (getting beaten four out of five times after having won 15 in a row might have played a factor).

After Moss left and much of the staff at HHS turned over after the 1997 season, things weren't quite as heated. The amiable Bob Davis didn't elicit the same kind of emotional response from the opposing sideline that Moss had. But I can remember Ed's saying at the pep rally before this 1998 game something like "I don't know why they'd be looking past us, just because they might have won most of the last few years...they've got a lot of winning to do before they catch up."

Over the years I've developed a kind of mutual respect for Ed, but turning back the dial to 1998, this story shows his penchant for a kind of aloof, gruff gamesmanship, as well as an overall distaste for the news media. I think Charlie Park probably got him in that mood in the first place.



Copyright 1998 The Ashley News Observer. By Heath Waldrop.

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The coaches try to downplay it, as Crossett High School head coach Ed Johnson did today when he asked in mock innocence, “Is it a big game?”

On the record, everyone speaks in vagaries, and uses terms of respect. Off the record—that’s a different story.

Yes, it’s a big game. It’s a huge game. It’s the game. It’s the OU-Texas of south Arkansas high school football.

It’s the Ashley Bowl, Hamburg vs. Crossett, which will be decided on Friday with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Campbell Field in Hamburg.

Ask the students. Ask the fans. Ask the players, privately, what this game means to them.

They’ll tell you it means a lot. But to some people, it apparently means too much, as what begins with school spirit and rivalry over a football game too often ends in recklessness, destructiveness and even law-breaking.

Much of the behavior is uncalled for, according to Hamburg coach Bob Davis.

“Because of how tense it is right now, I’d like to not bring more attention to it than we need,” Davis said this morning. “That’s what I don’t like about the whole thing. But normally it’s not the kids who play [who get into trouble].”

Hamburg, ranked No. 1 in the state all season until a loss in the Class AAA State Championship, beat Crossett twice last year, once in the regular season (when it was still a conference matchup) and once in the playoffs.

The games were close. They weren’t supposed to be, not according to the pollsters.

Both teams have things to prove this time around, even though they are in different conferences this year. And this year, the teams appear to be more evenly-matched. Hamburg is favored to win by two points—which is a home-field advantage spread.

“I’m really looking forward to Friday night, especially if the weather holds up,” Davis said. “I think it’ll be a good game for both of us. We’ll have a chance to evaluate our players a little bit more, and see where we are before we get into the conference. Hopefully we have eliminated some of the mistakes from our first ball game.”

“I’m expecting a good football game,” Johnson said. “[The Hamburg Lions] run and throw the ball well, and they play good defense. We’ve got to match them. Last year, basically all they did was throw the football. This year, they run and throw. They’ve got a big fullback [6-0, 230-pound Ryan Baldwin] and a good sophomore tailback [Laterrance Franklin.”

Both teams are 1-0 after winning their openers on Friday. Hamburg came from behind with a storm in the second half; Crossett held its lead through a storm in the second half.

“Crossett looks pretty good. They’ve got a good quarterback, their running game’s real good, they’ve got some good receivers,” Davis said. “The defense is always tough. Playing them will give us a good indication if we made improvements or fell back this week.”

“[The Lions’] defense is not as good, but there’s not a defense in Arkansas that was as good as theirs was last year,” Johnson said. “Their offense might be better.”

Get a seat early for Ashley Bowl ’98, because the whole county will be watching.