The 110-pound train bell, donated in 1954 by Sandow & Southern Railroad Co., goes home with the winner of the annual “Battle of the Bell” between the Cameron Yoe Yoemen (2-1) and the Rockdale Tigers (4-0).
At 7:30 tonight those two squads will kick off at Yoe Field in the 54th “Battle of the Bell.” But tonight isn’t all about the bell. It’s also about the District 24-3A opener.
“The bell comes along with winning,” said Yoe coach Mike Mullins, whose school owns a 37-16 advantage over Milam County rival Rockdale. “This is the first time we’ve played this early. In years past it’s been the ninth or 10th week and everybody was in the playoffs already. So everybody was playing for the bell. This year we are playing to get a leg up in the district race.”
That was the case last season, when the teams met in Week 10 and both had a playoff spot secured. The coaches agreed that that made the game a little bit more relaxed and brought out the rivalry atmosphere.
“Obviously you like to play any game when a playoff spot is locked up,” Rockdale coach Jeff Miller said, while emphasizing that the bell still wasn’t the most important thing. “Last year it was important to have bell back in Rockdale. But our No. 1 goal is to make playoffs, then we want to be district champs, make noise in playoffs and win all of our playoff games. Somewhere in all that we want to have bell in Rockdale.”
Rockdale won last year’s game 43-21 to secure the right to the bell, but retaining it won’t be a cakewalk.
Both squads are loaded with talent, and the Yoemen got a big boost with their running game last week.
Junior running back James Wells, who missed the first two games, rushed for 105 yards on 11 carries and scored twice in Yoe’s 60-35 win over Lorena, adding a true third running threat along with sophomore running back Damyon Kelley and junior quarterback Steven Townsend.
“We now have two quality running backs who do a good job complementing each other,” Mullins said. “James is not in football game condition yet, but he’s getting better and stronger.”
Yoe’s running attack averages 158 yards per game. But the offense has been more successful through the air, averaging 214 passing yards.
Townsend, who has completed 39 of 64 passes with 10 touchdowns, likes to spread the ball around but has found extra comfort in passing to classmate Brandon Freeman, who has 19 receptions for 358 yards and four scores.
Rockdale offers a fairly balanced attack as well, averaging 192.8 yards on the ground and 120 in the air.
Though Miller said the Tigers primarily are a running team, Rockdale showed what its passing game is capable of when Midland Christian shut down the run last week.
The Mustangs limited running back Cois Walker, who leads the area with 508 rushing yards, to 51 yards on 14 carries.
The Tigers went to the air, and quarterback Mark Drake, who completed 17 passes in the 28-27 double-overtime win, found receiver Joe Sanders 11 times for 170 yards.
“I wasn’t particularly surprised they stopped the run,” Miller said. “A team will to stop the run or the throw. The film (Midland Christian) had on us showed a lot of success running. So they did a good job and just put a lot in the box.”
The game will be a big test for the defenses. Both have allowed more than 320 yards per game.
As is typical in a rivalry game, the coaches aren’t exactly giving away game secrets on how to slow down the other guys.
“There’s no doubt Joe will make his catches,” Mullins said of Sanders. “We have to find something to try to stop him. I don’t know what that’s going to be yet. Maybe I’ll know by (gametime).”
Like in any rivalry, the key players aren’t always important. If Yoe finds a way to stop Sanders and Walker, two more Tigers might step up. The same holds true for Rockdale stopping Freeman and Wells.
But now with the district opener added to the mix, the coaches are trying to keep the players focused on executing the gameplan and not getting caught up in the hoopla of the “Battle of the Bell.”
“There might be a little extra excitement with the school and community,” Miller said. “But what we keep telling out kids is that it’s important because it’s the first district game. Both teams have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs and this one gives one team a leg up.”
NOTES: Rockdale has not won the bell in consecutive seasons since 1976-77. . . . At least one of the teams has made the playoffs every year since 1994. . . . The last time the winner of the Bell game missed the playoffs was 1999, when Yoe won 21-20. That was a non-district game.
mhood@temple-telegram.com
