Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Central, Hall renew LR rivalry
An old city rivalry is being renewed on the football field tonight.
Little Rock Central will travel to Scott Field to face Little Rock Hall in the Battle for the Bell. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Central Coach Kent Laster is in his third season with the Tigers and has never coached against Hall, but said his players are aware of the game’s significance.
“They understand the history between the schools,” Laster said. “This is an old rivalry. You can throw the records out when Central and Hall meet.”
After a 14-year absence, the two Little Rock School District schools meet again.
From 1958 to 1982, Central and Hall played each other on Thanksgiving Day. But in 1983, the state’s two largest classifications at the time, the AAAAA and AAAA merged and led to all state championship games being played at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Central and Hall played each other earlier in the season, with the last meeting coming in 2005.
Central leads the series 2520-4. The Tigers have won 10 consecutive games in the series.
Little Rock Hall Coach Jim Withrow said he’s talked about the Central-Hall rivalry with his father-in-law Larry Morton, a former Hall coach, along with former Central head coach Scooter Register and former Hall quarterback John Fogleman (the current Little Rock Catholic head coach).
“I’ve got a lot of respect for it,” Withrow said.
“I’m looking forward to being a part of it. We’re trying to restart our program, while Central has established themselves again.”
Hall enters tonight’s game at 1-0 after defeating Hope 7-0. The Warriors got a 35-yard touchdown run by Kavionne Rucker in the third quarter, which was the game’s only score.
Withrow said he was proud of the Warriors, who defeated a team from outside Pulaski County for the first time since 2011.
“The kids played hard,” Withrow said. “They gave everything they had.”
Withrow said Hall is behind offensively after not having spring football because of covid-19.
But he added that the Warriors aren’t the only team that was affected.
“The quality of football will not be as great as we’re used to,” Withrow said.
Central had a 35-30 lead over Little Rock Christian last Friday, but the Tigers lost 57-35 at Quigley-Cox Stadium.
Laster said that he hopes the loss can serve as a lesson for the Tigers.
“We have to learn how to finish as a team,” Laster said.
Unlike in past Thanksgiving Day matchups between Central and Hall where state championships could be on the line, tonight’s game will have a winner who will hoist the Battle for the Bell trophy.
Ultimately, both Laster and Withrow want to see their teams get better as they get ready for nonconference play — Central in the 7A-Central Conference and Hall in the 5A-Central Conference.
“We want to be competitive and win,” Laster said. “We have to play smart and play hard each week.”
Withrow is his first season at Hall after serving 13 seasons at Sylvan Hills and said the Warriors can build on their first victory from last week.
“I want to see them be competitive and get better. We’ll see where we’re at,” Withrow said. “We have a ways to go. But in time, we’ll have this thing going.”