Series has been win/win

By Michael Butler

In football, there is a winner and a loser. Indeed, that has been the case in the Tallassee/Reeltown rivalry; however, both sides are winning regardless of the scoreboard.

After a 17-year hiatus in the series from 2003-2020, the game returned to the schedule three years ago. And the game has brought in big dollars for both programs.

As anticipated, the "Battle of the Tallapoosa" has been a gate winner each season drawing great support from both fan bases.

In the three years since the renewal, over 5,000 tickets have been sold during that span (including the Covid-cap year). At $8 net per ticket, that is roughly $40,000 that has been divided 50/50 between the two schools. Concessions not included.

"It's a big gate," said THS head coach Mike Battles. "The crowds are loud. Everybody knows everybody."

Reeltown head coach Matt Johhson concurred.

"It's by far our biggest gate outside of playoff games," Johnson said. "The numbers have been great. It's definitely been worth it."

As for continuing the rivalry when rescheduling decisions are made after this season...

"We'll see," Battles said. "It doesn't have anything to do with winning and losing. We'll have discussions to see if it's something we want to keep doing."

The season opener is Aug. 24 at Nix-Webster-O'Neal Stadium in Reeltown. Temperatures for game week are expected to rise above 100 degrees. WTLS/Score 94.7/Hit 106.9 will have the live broadcast with an airtime of 6 p.m. Video streaming will be on Tallassee Times TV.