There are no easy games on the Charleston football schedule…ever. Every team that plays Charleston will always bring their best effort to try to knock off the Tigers. And when you couple that fact with their strength of schedule, Charleston is always a “battle-tested” team.
Week two of the regular season will be no exception to Charleston. The annual “Battle of Franklin County” will renew again this week when the Ozark Hillbillies travel to Alumni Stadium to play the Charleston Tigers. From the two cities’ mayors down to the players on each roster, there is a fierce rivalry that will be settled on Charleston gridiron on Friday night.
At deadline time for this story, the Tigers were making their way to Northwest Arkansas to play at Elkins. Charleston did not play during “Zero Week”, and the Elkins game was their first game of the season. Now Charleston returns home to face the Class 4A Hillbillies who are predicted by most to win the 4A-1 conference, just ahead of Elkins.
Charleston won a thriller at Ozark a year ago by the score of 31-28, and this year’s rematch should be just as exciting. Ozark defeated Clarksville on August 26 by the score of 49-28. Again, at deadline time for this, Ozark was hosting Booneville in a big contest on September 2.
The Hillbillies are coached by Jeremie Burns. They were 8-3 a year ago with wins over Clarksville, Dardanelle, Dover, Mena, Pottsville, Waldron, and Huntsville. They suffered losses to Booneville, Charleston, and to Crossett (state playoff). The Hillbillies run the spread offense and the 4-3 on defense.
According to Hooten’s Arkansas Football publication, Ozark’s strengths include their offensive backfield and linebackers, and their weakness being inexperienced linebackers. But make no mistake, this is a fierce rivalry, and both teams will play all out to secure the win. Records, strengths, and weaknesses will play some role, but the rivalry will play the biggest role in this year’s edition of the “Battle of Franklin County”.
Ozark has moved from the 4A-4 to the 4A-1 conference for this year. Their conference member schools are Berryville, Green Forest, Lincoln, Gentry, Elkins, Gravette, and Huntsville. On paper, a good move for Ozark. Gone are schools such as Mena, Pottsville, and Waldron. The Charleston game will be the final non-conference game for Ozark before they open conference play on September 23 when they host Berryville. The Hillbillies are once again favored to win their conference, but first they must get past two tough, Class 3A non-conference games with both Booneville and Charleston.
Charleston head football coach Ricky May and his staff had an opportunity to see Ozark this summer at a football camp held in Charleston. When asked about his impressions of Ozark, Coach May said, “From seeing them at team camps, they are still big, physical, and they still have Masengale (running back) who can fly or run you over. They also have Simpson (QB) who can kill you running or throwing the football. According to the stats from the newspaper, both of those guys had big games in their Zero Week game (vs Clarksville). The Ozark coaching staff will have them ready to play and they always do a great job.”
Kickoff on Friday is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Charleston. You will want to get their early to get a good seat for this epic battle between two very good football teams. And don’t forget, RNN Sports will be in Charleston next week for exclusive coverage of the Tigers’ game with Nashville! But for now, enjoy the game Friday night, and thanks to our new subscribers in Charleston!
