Neighbors ready for Friday night

Bedford County rivals Cascade and Community lock up Friday night in Wartrace at 7:30. (File Photos by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

While the two Bedford County schools have battled competitively for over 30 years in other sports, the football side of things is still in its infancy.

The pregame tactics haven't gotten nasty as they have in some other parts of the state and each portion of the county doesn't shut completely down for the game just yet, but Community coach Johnnie Frost said that, given time, Friday nights like tomorrow could be very special.

"I don't think it's got to where it's going to get. It will grow a little bit each year," he said. "This year, the kids have talked about this game for a long time and now it's here. Maybe they'll sell out and lay it all on the line in this game and that's what it's all about.

"It's going to get there. I know it's going to get there. I'm proud of the kids for working hard this week."

The more experienced Champions won the first two meetings by a combined score of 105-31, owning the ground game by rushing a total of 59 times for 562 yards.

However, just like how Cascade coach Kenny Parker noted, what's happened in the past is past and bears no meaning on the action upcoming.

"When you play somebody close to you like Community is, our guys and their guys know each other and we're scrappin'," he said. "It's a battle. Throw out the records. Both sides are going to play hard."

It will be a reunion of sorts for the coaching staffs as Frost, the former Cascade offensive coordinator, walks the sidelines with assistants and former Champions Zak Faulk and Eric Hunt.

"It's not a reunion, but it is," Parker said. "It's good to see those people but you know there's not one thing they'd like better than to beat us. And, on the other hand, there's not one thing we'd like better than to beat them."

Cascade coaches have made it a point to switch up some of their terminology because Frost, Hunt and Faulk likely know some of their calls.

After near-flawless execution with the Pistol offense in limited practice time to switch over from a predominant Wing-T attack, the Champs (3-3, 2-0 District 9-A) put forth "one of their more complete games" their last time out, defeating Eagleville 42-7 in Week 6.

Parker said he would like to see his team secure the ball better but was pleased with the blocking the hogs did up front.

"Eagleville had a good offensive line and defensive line. I thought we did a good job with them," he said.

The Vikings (0-6, 0-3) fell 24-6 at Huntland last week.

Football coaches have said for years, "It' ain't the Xs and Os, it's about the Jimmys and the Joes" when it comes to hanging 'W's in the left-hand column.

Frost, whose team is preparing for both the Pistol and Wing-T, agrees.

"The difficulty with Cascade is not necessarily their offense or defense, it's matching up with their personnel. They have a good skill base," he said.

While Tyler Bowen, Matt Henderson, Ricky Hord and Gerald "Happy" Johnson give the Orange and Black plenty of weapons with which to stretch the field, Community's roster has its own set of talent. Parker singled out Cody Pierce, Trey Barnes and Jonathan Handy as players who impressed him in film study.

In fact, the fight that the Purple and Gold bring week-in and week-out also impressed Parker.

"They play hard," he said. "I told our kids that they play with reckless abandon. I mean they are coming after you. They're going to hit you every chance they get to hit you. I like the way they play. They get after it.

"They play from whistle to whistle. Now, they're a little inexperienced, but it doesn't fault their effort and determination."

In just their third year of having a full varsity schedule, the Unionville boys' coming out on top this week would be a trademark win.

"It would be a huge shot in the arm, a wonderful boost to have," Frost said. "Anything's possible and we've prepared pretty good mentally for the game. The elements, according to the weather, could play a huge role in this."

Dress for a wet evening as the weather forecast is calling for rain chances to reach as high as 70 percent and it isn't expected to level off until Saturday.

Sloppy conditions could very well factor into the playcalling and offensive production for each side.

"The weather, lots of times, is an all-equalizer," Frost said. "Think about it, if the wind's blowing hard and you're a throwing team, you're going to have a hard time throwing it. When you're a running team, you've got lots of speed, it's wet and squishy, you can't make the moves you normally make, you have to change your style of running to more north and south."

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.