TEXARKANA — After the past two seasons’ meetings between Arkansas and Texas High Schools' football teams were canceled due to COVID-19 related issues, the teams have not scheduled one another for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
The active run of games ended in 2020 at 65 years in a row. The series dates back to 1909 with 104 games in the history of the Battle of the Axe, which has gained national media attention and is a week-long event locally, even involving the mayors and city boards from each side of the state line.
“The Texas High/Arkansas High matchup is a game that we will consider playing each year if the schedules matchup,” Texarkana Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Doug Brubaker said.
Even with the past two meetings called off — 2020 after the UIL pushed the start of the football season for 5A and 6A programs back a month, creating scheduling conflicts, and 2021 due to a spike in local COVID numbers the week of the event — this will mark the first time the Razorbacks and Tigers did not schedule their cross-town rival in 69 years.
“As schedules allow, we will always consider playing this game,” Texas High athletic director and head football coach Gerry Stanford said.
Some of the traditions for the student bodies include a bacon fry prior to the Texas High pep rally, and eating tiger tail doughnuts and drinking orange Crush for the Hog faithful. The activities leading up to the game often started days beforehand during Spirit Week.
The Tigers hold a 65-32-7 lead in the series. With the teams finding alternative opponents in 2020, both teams completed undefeated regular seasons that year. Texas High also was undefeated in 2021 and won the 2019 meeting, 28-7, over AHS. The Razorbacks last won against THS in 2017 by a 7-0 score.
Previously, the last time the schools did not play was 1954. The game was also not played in 1952, and prior to that year the last time the teams did not meet on the gridiron was 1921.
A request for comment from Texarkana Arkansas School District had not received a response at the time this article was published.