LONGVIEW, Texas — The 52nd Battle of Hawkins Creek between the Spring Hill Panthers and the White Oak Roughnecks is back on this year after the 2020 matchup was canceled due to COVID-19. It will also serve as CBS19's Game of the Week.
The long-standing rivals will meet on the gridiron Friday, Sept. 10, after their 2019 contest ended with a lopsided victory for the Panthers as they shut out the Roughnecks 27-0.
Watch a recap of 2019's matchup in the video below.
Here are some fun facts that connect the schools by more than just a six-mile stretch of George Richey Road and half-a-century of gridiron greatness.
DID YOU KNOW:
- White Oak leads the all-time series 26-25. Spring Hill will look to Friday's game to tie up the series.
- Former White Oak ISD superintendent Mike Gilbert was a longtime baseball coach and high school principal at Spring Hill before taking the post at WOISD. He retired from White Oak in December 2019.
- Former Spring Hill superintendent Mike Crossland was the basketball coach at White Oak before making the move to SHISD.
- White Oak High School band director Jason Steele is a Spring Hill graduate.
- Former Spring Hill head football coach and high school principal Gene King (1966-1975) is a White Oak graduate.
- Former Spring Hill head football coach Mark Sartain (2013-2014) was also the head football coach at White Oak (1995-2002).
- White Oak ISD assistant superintendent Mitzi Neely is a former Spring Hill High School journalism teacher.
- White Oak High School principal Donna Jennings is a 1977 graduate of Spring Hill, where she was the drum major and salutatorian.
- White Oak has produced six NFL players (Max McGee, Byron Hunt, Mike Barber, Russell Wayt, Sam Hunt, Dick Fugler). Spring Hill has had three NFL players (Chad Mackey, Barry Bowman, Brandon Carter). White Oak's McGee also score the first touchdown in the inaugural Super Bowl for the Green Bay Packers.
Currently, Spring Hill sits at 1-1 and White Oak is 2-0 on the season.