The Silver Tiger rivalry knows no age or holiday.
Autumn temperatures present for the Silver Tiger Trophy game Friday in Sedalia gave way to Labor Day humidity in Warrensburg by Monday, Sept. 5, and a 30-16 Warrensburg victory was a briefly heated affair for the Smith-Cotton freshman and Warrensburg C-Team.
Smith-Cotton freshman coach Patrick Pyle, who was a freshman at S-C in 1996, said the Warrensburg and Smith-Cotton rivalry is relevant no matter the grade.
“The rivalry between these two schools, I mean, it goes back a long ways,” Pyle said. “Even when I was a freshman, it was present. I told the guys that no matter who (Warrensburg) plays this season, they will play you the hardest because of you we are.”
With no school Monday, Pyle said the S-C Tigers opened the game sapped of energy. Warrensburg built a 16-0 lead in the first half, and Smith-Cotton would not score until a Christian Finley 53-yard catch-and-run with one minute left in the second quarter.
“I think, there was a little bit with the holiday,” Pyle said. “They had all morning off. They were spending time with family, and all of a sudden it’s football time. I think we came out a little flat.”
Warrensburg and Smith-Cotton exchanged three personal fouls in two snaps in the third quarter. Smith-Cotton was flagged for a late hit, and post-whistle jostling warranted offsetting penalties after the next play.
The home Tigers scored on the next play to extend its lead to 22-8.
Smith-Cotton did not score after a Jevan Neale interception in the fourth, and Warrensburg again added to its lead on the next drive, making it 28-8 with 2:55 to play.
Cameron Finley weaved through Warrensburg defenders for Smith-Cotton’s second touchdown, a 33-yard run. S-C succeeded on a pair of two-point conversions Monday.
