By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Staff
The lineup has thinned for the 11th Battle on the Border High School Football Showcase Sept. 2-3 at Independence Stadium, with Saturday’s middle game scrapped.
It involved two area Class A teams, Cedar Creek of Ruston and Minden’s Glenbrook Academy. The teams will meet, but not on the big stage in Shreveport. Instead, the Cougars and Apaches play at Glenbrook on Sept. 1, the Lincoln Parish Journal reported Monday.
The teams agreed last winter to a home-and-home series, then were persuaded to move at least this year’s contest to the Battle on the Border. Cedar Creek signed and returned a game contract, but Glenbrook – coached by former Parkway coach David Feaster – did not, apparently not satisfied with terms.
The snafu surfaced last Thursday when Cedar Creek coach Matt Middleton called Shelly Ragle, director of Shreveport Public Assembly and Recreation, the city entity that runs the Battle on the Border.
Tuesday, Ragle said she and her administrative team are trying to plug the gap created by the collapse of next Saturday’s 3 p.m. matchup.
“We found out all of that Thursday, and we’re trying to determine what we’ll do with that middle of the day game window, or if we’ll do something different. Schedules for the teams are finalized at this point. It’s all happened so quickly.”
If a pair of teams can’t be located to fill the void, Ragle said all possibilities were on the table, with a “Battle of the Bands” showcase as one concept.
“Our goal is to have a great atmosphere for these young people. You’re still going to see some great football from the teams we have remaining,” she said.
“Battle on the Border has had such a long, rich tradition. We will learn from this, move forward, have a great weekend and come back strong in 2023. At this point, that’s all we can do.”
Ragle empathized with Cedar Creek and Middleton when she fielded his call.
“Understandably, at that point they wanted to be released to assure they had a game that weekend. I understood their perspective.”
The 11th-hour shift leaves just six teams playing three games in the event. Denton (Texas)-Ryan High School meets Arkansas’ Bryant High in the only game next Friday, kicking off at 7:30. Saturday’s slate starts at 11 a.m. pitting Scotlandville, from the Baton Rouge metroplex, against Oklahoma’s McAlester High. The only local matchup comes next Saturday night at 7:30 when Huntington and Mansfield square off in a game only recently shifted to the Battle on the Border.
As of a Shreveport-Bossier Journal report July 28, there were no local teams involved for the first time in the history of the event. Last year, participants included four Shreveport schools – Byrd, Captain Shreve, Southwood and Woodlawn.
An Oklahoma publication, the Ada News, reported McAlester will receive up to a $5,000 guarantee from the City of Shreveport along with 34 hotel rooms as cornerstones of its deal to participate.
Local and area coaches were quoted in an Aug. 3 Journal story saying outreach from then-SPAR assistant director Joe Mero, the event coordinator, about playing in the 2022 event was too late in the scheduling process and inconsistent or even non-existent. Mero is apparently no longer with SPAR, as of last week, although Ragle declined comment on personnel matters.
“I am the point person for the department,” said Ragle, “but we have several people who have been part of Battle on the Border. We’ve been reaching out to the participating teams and we have the same fun atmosphere planned, to provide a great experience for the teams and fans.
“Those young athletes coming to play, they’ll get their Battle on the Border swag, they can win a trophy, they get to play in a big stadium atmosphere. We want to put on the best Battle on the Border we can, and start working really hard on Sept. 5 to stage a great 2023 event,” she said. “We want these young people and their coaches to go home next weekend telling everyone they want to come back again next year.”
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com