The Charleston High School Tigers and West Tallahatchie High School Choctaws will kick off the 2022 football season by playing each other Friday night in the annual “Battle of the Golden Egg.”
This year’s contest featuring the longtime cross-county rivals will be played at Choctaw Stadium in Webb. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. The winner will claim a brass football trophy and, perhaps more importantly, countywide bragging rights for at least one year.
According to a 1955 story in The Sumner Sentinel, the first game of the series was played in 1950 — then 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 33 consecutive matches between the two teams, including a 44-8 blowout in their most recent meeting — Aug. 23, 2019, in Webb. The game is alternated between the schools.
West Tally last defeated the CHS Tigers in 1984, a 24-12 victory for the Choctaws.
Charleston finished the 2021 season with a 9-4 record, suffering a narrow 24-22 loss to Leflore County in the Class 2A North State championship game. West Tally was 6-6 overall, although two of those losses — including the egg game at CHS — were COVID forfeits. The Chocs lost a first-round Class 1A state playoff at Tupelo Christian Prep.
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West Tallahatchie participated in a jamboree game Aug. 19 at J.Z. George High School in North Carrollton.
Choctaws coach Shane Hargett said his team "accomplished what we wanted to — just to hit somebody besides ourselves. ... [and] to get our guys some game action against a different color jersey."
By his count, had score been kept, Hargett said the Choctaws would have won 28-12.
Despite the promising unofficial start to the season, Hargett said his team "exposed a lot of things we need to work on and get better on, but we're very proud of the guys and really pleased with the effort."
CHS head coach LaDon Taylor said the Tigers, uncharacteristically, did not participate in a jamboree to usher in the fall season.
