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Thrilling finishes, bragging rights and championship implications.
That’s what the Biloxi-Gulfport football rivalry has been all about.
The two teams meet tonnight at 7:20 on the artificial turf at Biloxi Stadium in a game that will be televised by Cellular South and carried on WLOX.
The two schools first met in 1908 when football was in its infancy on the Gulf Coast. It became a regular fall ritual of life on the Coast for the two neighboring, yet diverse, communities in 1920 until the series was stopped after the Thanksgiving game of 1957. The series began again in 1968.
Former Gulfport coach and athletic director Lindy Callahan coached in the classic before the suspension and then helped bring the rivalry back to fruition as an AD.
“The biggest difference is that the game used to be played on Thanksgiving afternoon, no later than 2 or 2:30,” Callahan said. “When we started playing again, the game was in the middle of the season. Also, when we restarted there were Gulfport and Gulfport East (high schools).
“That was the big thing down here. That was before casinos, speed boat racing and antique car shows. People spoke about the game the whole week. It’s nothing now compared to what it used to be.
“We were more run-oriented back in those days. They run the spread today; we were running a full-house backfield.’’
Biloxi mayor A.J. Holloway played at Biloxi in two of the games just before the series was suspended. Although the two teams didn’t get into a fight in the 1957 game, the fans did. They came over the wall at Milner Stadium. That led to the stoppage of the rivalry and a cooling-down period.
When the rivalry renewed in 1968, Biloxi won the game 26-14 en route to an undefeated season, the Big Eight title and the mythical state championship.
Gulfport came back to win Big Eight titles and mythical state titles in 1972 and 1977.
Gulfport beat Biloxi 17-7 in 1982 en route to the state championship game in the state playoffs. The biggest games since then, in terms of state prominence, came in 1990 when both teams were ranked in the Top 10. Gulfport beat Biloxi 21-20 on Chad Edwards’ last-season field goal in the regular-season finale. Then, ironically, the two teams turned around and played the next week in the state playoffs, and Gulfport again rallied late in the fourth quarter to knock off the Avery Youngblood-led Indians 16-12.
Callahan initiated a “Best of the ‘90s’’ series trophy to up the ante in the game.
The series since 1920 was tied at 28 games apiece when Biloxi won in overtime 13-7 in 1984. Until recently, it has been colored in blue and orange.
Gulfport won nine in a row before Biloxi broke the streak in 1993. Gulfport won seven in row from 1998-2004 before Biloxi won again. The two schools have swapped victories over the last four years.
Present Southern Miss running back Damion Fletcher starred in Biloxi’s 35-12 win in their new stadium in 2005. Don’t tell this former Indian running back this game doesn’t have some significance.
“It’s the biggest of all the games,’’ Fletcher said. “I’m in my senior year at Southern, it was four years ago, and I can remember every detail when we beat those guys.
“Both teams lay it on the line. The players put the records behind them and anything that happened previously is forgotten.’’
And there have been some wild finishes lately. Shabazz McClellan and the Admirals pulled out a 28-24 thriller at Yankie Stadium in 2003. The Admirals did the same thing in 2006 at Milner Stadium.
But Patrick Murphy and Devron Spain helped the Indians get some payback of the same sort in 2007 when Biloxi won in the final minute 48-44 in the highest-scoring game ever in the series.
Gulfport leads the series since 1920 with a 49-32-4 mark. Biloxi is 2-0 in their new stadium against their archrival.
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