Loachapoka renews old feud with Notasulga

Loachapoka High and Notasulga High are separated by a mere six miles.

Needless to say, the two schools don’t like each other too much.

And tonight in Loachapoka, the two archrivals will square off in their yearly slugfest.

“It’s always going to be big, no matter what happens,” Loachapoka head coach Jerome Tate said. “Whenever I step down, the first thing I’m going to tell my replacement is, ‘You’ve got to beat Notasulga.’”

Down Highway 14, the Blue Devils have also been pumping the rivalry matchup.

“At the end of practice Thursday, we pulled everyone together and talked to the players,” Notasulga first-year head coach Roland Bell said. “One of the seniors stood up and said, ‘This is Loachapoka week, and this is my last shot at them.’”

Loachapoka has won the past five meetings with Notasulga. The Blue Devils last topped the Indians in 2002.

But that was back when Notasulga was one of Class 1A’s dominant squads — reaching the title game in 2001. And Loachapoka was an up-and-coming team.

The roles have drastically changed in the past few years.

Loachapoka is now a the perineal power while Notasulga has gone 1-18 the past two years. That includes an 0-10 campaign last year.

“Loachapoka is a proven team, while we’re the new kids on the block,” Bell said. “All we can do is practice hard, coach to the best we can and try to get our guys to play consistently each week.

“Coach Tate called (Thursday) and said to keep doing the things we’re doing and we’ll be fine. It’s going to take some time, but we’re getting it going in the right direction.”

The Blue Devils had a rough start to the year last Friday.

As a small Class 1A team, Notasulga played a Class 5A team — Booker T. Washington.

And, as many expected, BTW came away with a win, 50-0.

But Bell said he was able to take some positives from the lopsided loss.

“The kids are still fine and all the way to the last play, they had no quit in them,” Bell said. “We weren’t supposed to win that one, but we didn’t quit and played hard all the way to the end — and that’s what we’re going to have to keep doing.”

Before the season, Bell changed up the Blue Devils’ offensive, defensive and overall work philosophies.

Now he’s making a change at quarterback.

Sophomore Tae Watkins got the Week 1 start, but Bell will go with freshman Steven Ricks, who played the final three quarters against BTW, this week.

But don’t think for a second the athletic Watkins won’t be on the field.

“Steven’s a little quicker and has a little better arm,” Bell said. “But Tae will be there and play everywhere.

“We’re planning using him some at wide receiver, tight end, fullback, tailback and quarterback — just a little of everything.”

While Notasulga is going through major changes, the only difference for Loachapoka is a move back to Class 1A after two years in the 2A ranks.

Nine starters return for the Indians, who went 9-3 last year.

The Indians got their season off to a fast start, taking out LaFayette, 20-14.

But Tate and the Indians aren’t taking anything for granted.

“They’re a young ball club, but they’re moving in the right direction,” Tate said. “We’re not going to take them lightly at all because we know it’s still the Loachapoka-Notasulga game and it’s the first Region game.”

Loachapoka’s offense was expected to be strong in 2008 with six starters back.

But last Friday it was the Indians’ defense, returning just three starters, who came through in the clutch.

After LaFayette steadily rallied back from a 20-6 deficit, defensive back Ladextric Jones batted away a fourth-down pass in the end zone to preserve Loachapoka’s win.

tpeavy@oanow.com | 737-2568