The Charleston High School Tigers and the West Tallahatchie High School Choctaws will suit up for pigskin combat in the annual “Battle of the Golden Egg” Friday night.
This year’s contest featuring the longtime cross-county rivals will be played at Choctaw Stadium in Webb. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. The winner will claim a brass football trophy and countywide bragging rights.
The Class 2A Tigers enter the contest with a 2-1 record, while the Class 1A Choctaws brandish a 1-2 mark on the young season.
According to a 1955 story in The Sumner Sentinel, the first game of the series was played in 1950 — a 19-0 Charleston Warriors win.
The Tallahatchie County clash has been played practically every year since, with the exception of a four-year stretch from 1974-1977, as well as 1996, 1998, and the COVID-impacted years of 2020 and 2021.
Charleston has held crowing rights in the series for over three decades, winning 37 consecutive matches, including last year’s 40-12 in Tiger Stadium. The game alternates. West Tally last defeated the Tigers in 1984, a 24-12 home victory.
“It’s a big rivalry game. No matter what the record is, no matter what you look like on paper, that’s always a game where both sides are hyped up for it,” said Charleston head coach Rasheed DeBerry. “We’ve got to match the intensity and stay focused.”
Added West Tallahatchie head coach Shane Hargett, “This is a good Charleston team. ... We’re going to play as hard as we can and give them all we’ve got.”
