It's rivalry week in high school football, or at least it is in Claremore. Just in case you have been living under a rock, the Zebras travel to Pryor this Friday for a game that means a whole lot more than just another win on the schedule.
Both teams are 5-3 as we get closer to the playoffs. And if you have watched these two teams play this season, you know their records could easily be better. Both teams are a few plays away from being 7-1. But when it comes to this game, I don't think records matter all that much anyway.
There is something different about Claremore vs. Pryor. And to understand why, you have to look back at where it all started.
According to the website iwasatthegame.com, the first meeting between the Zebras and Tigers took place in 1944, with Claremore winning 14-13. But I have a hard time believing that is where this rivalry began. I believe the first game was played on November 16, 1923, when Pryor won 24-14. The teams met again the following year on October 10, and this time the Zebras came away with a 7-0 victory.
The Claremore Messenger wrote about that game on October 16, 1924, and its description gives you a little glimpse into what football was like back then. The headline read, “Claremore High Wins Against Pryor High,” and went on to describe how the Zebras traveled to Pryor and controlled most of the game. The newspaper even pointed out that the final score didn't tell the whole story, as Claremore had outplayed Pryor in just about every department.
Think about that for a minute. More than 100 years ago, these two towns were already going at it on the football field.
I'm sure nobody sitting in the stands back then imagined that this game would still be played more than a century later. They probably had no idea how much this rivalry would come to mean to the people in both towns. And they certainly couldn't have known just how close this series would remain.
After those first two games, the series was tied 1-1. Fast-forward to this century, and the rivalry is still as even as it gets. The teams have played 18 times since the year 2000, with each team winning nine games.
You couldn't ask for much more balance than that.
But the thing that makes this rivalry special isn't just the history or how close the games have been. It's what the game means to the people involved.
Let's be honest. High school sports have changed a lot over the years. We have NIL, the transfer portal, kids moving from town to town, and kids playing for school districts where they don't even live. The connection between a school, its players, and its community isn't always what it used to be. It's crazy to think about, but Bedlam football doesn't even exist anymore, in large part because of how things have changed.
And that makes rivalries like Claremore vs. Pryor even more important.
Because no matter what changes in sports, this game still means something. It doesn't matter if a kid played in a different-colored jersey last year and is now wearing red and white or blue and gold. When this game comes around, they understand what it means. They hear about it from their coaches. They hear about it from the players who came before them. And before long, they become part of something that is much bigger than themselves.
I can tell you that just talking about this game gets my blood warming up. The closer we get to kickoff, the more it starts to boil. And I know I'm not the only one who feels that way.
On October 30, the Zebras and Tigers will take the field inside Pryor's new stadium. There is playoff seeding on the line. There is pride on the line. And, of course, there is the Highway 20 Trophy, which one town will get to keep in its trophy case until these two teams meet again next year.
But there is something else on the line, too. It's the chance to be part of a rivalry that has stood the test of time.
So we need to show up. We need to travel as a town, fill those stands, and make sure our players know we are behind them. This is one of those games you don't want to watch from your couch or catch on a screen later. You want to be there. You want to feel the atmosphere, hear the crowd, and be part of the moment.
More than 100 years ago, two towns started something on a football field that neither could have imagined would last this long.
Now it's our turn to carry it on.
I'll see you in Pryor. And let's make sure they hear the Zebras!