Oldest Historical Rivals Meet Again as Waynesville Hosts Game Against the Rolla Bulldogs

By Zachary Remedies, Sports Information Class

WAYNESVILLE, Mo. 10/9/20--Waynesville’s sixth game of the Varsity Tiger football season will kick off in the city of orange and black as the Tigers play host to their oldest historical rival in Waynesville High School football, the Rolla Bulldogs. Friday night’s gridiron showdown will begin at 7 P.M. 

Coach Joe Haynes says that this game in particular will be “Four quarters of hell on Earth.” Although the Bulldogs have been home for the past 2 weeks due to COVID-19 related issues and unable to see the field of play in that time frame, Haynes continues to say, “It doesn’t matter which aspect you want to focus on, it’s going to be a fight.”

With the Tigers coming off their second win of the season against the Bolivar Liberators, they plan on taking the momentum from that game and carrying it on into this week's upcoming event.

The previous time these two teams met on Oct. 4, 2019, the Waynesville Tigers traveled to Rolla and had a “shootout,” as Coach Haynes calls it, with both teams going back and forth scoring until Mike Lewis made a 38-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, followed by an extra point through the uprights, giving the final score of 49-35

About the Tigers

• In the previous week, Waynesville traveled to Bolivar where they played the Liberators at Southwestern Baptist University, knocking them off their high horse by beating them 37-33, making Waynsville’s season record 2-3

• The Tigers are looking to use their speed as an asset, similar to what they did last Friday night against Bolivar.

• The very first football game Waynesville High School ever played was in 1959 against the Rolla Bulldogs, making the Waynesville-Rolla showdown the oldest football rivalry for Waynesville.

About the Bulldogs

• Due to COVID-19 related issues, the Bulldogs have not seen the gridiron in 2 weeks

• The last game the Bulldogs played on Sept. 18, 2020, Rolla traveled to Springfield to play the Hillcrest Hornets, beating them 35-30, making the Bulldogs season record 2-2