SPRINGDALE — Every city in the Northwest Arkansas Conference has a rivalry game, but few compare to the 43-year history of Springdale Central vs. Springdale Southwest.
The series began in 1967 and the first game ended in a 13-13 tie. Not much has changed since, including the coaching.
Southwest’s Bruce Matthews has been at the helm of the Cougars program for the last 32 years, giving him one season of seniority over Central coach Fred Hartsfield.
“This game is special to the kids and it is always fun to be a part of,” Hartsfield said. “When I was going through some boxes of film this past summer, I actually uncovered the original game reel from the first Springdale Rivalry Night.
“We are currently in the process of restoring that film reel to DVD.
“It just goes to show you that this has been a tradition in Springdale for a long time. I think coach Matthews and I both take great pride in winning the game, but the most important thing for us is helping mold these kids into good men.”
The Springdale rivalry has grown into a coaching rivalry that may be one of the most storied in the entire country. Over the years, Hartsfield and Matthews have squared off 55 times. The first time was in 1980 when both were coaching the eighth-grade squads at their respective schools.
Central won that battle 12-7, but Matthews holds the upper hand with 29 wins to Hartsfield’s 24. Two of the games ended in a tie.
“When this rivalry first started Bruce (Matthews) and I were very competitive with one another. You might even say we had some animosity for one another,” Hartsfield said.
“But over the years I think we have grown to respect each other as coaches and as men. It used to be more important for us to beat Southwest than to win a conference championship, but at this point in my life I realize that there is a lot more to life than winning football games.”
It hasn’t seemed to matter which team has had the better season leading up to the rivalry game in recent years. Last season Central saw its hopes of an undefeated conference title ripped away with a 14-7 loss to Southwest in the last week of the season.
The Cougars were just 4-5 coming into the game.
Both teams are 6-2 this season, with Central boasting the best defense in the conference and Southwest putting up far superior numbers on offense.
“You can throw out all the stats and records when it comes to this game because these kids don’t care. They just want to beat the guys they grew up with,” Matthews said. “Fred (Hartsfield) and I know when the other is going to blink, so its not about knowing what the other team is going to do, its about limiting your mistakes. One thing you can count on is that these kids are going to leave it all on the field.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:20 p.m. in Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium.