NEW HOPE — A relatively new rivalry feels old when New Hope and Columbus football take the field against each other.
Having met on the gridiron only 22 times, the Falcons and Trojans are Lowndes County comrades, with fans of each team sharing workplaces, churches, streets and sometimes households.
Friends off the field and competitors on, this year’s matchup has a new feel with the Falcons moving to Class 6A before the school year. Thus, it’s no longer a district game.
Little else has changed, however, as Friday night has been circled on the calendar for months, a matchup that will determine county bragging rights and give one team their first win of the season.
“Our kids grow up with the kids from Columbus,” New Hope head coach Seth Stillman said. “We have a lot of changeover with how the district, city and county lines run. A kid can move about 20 yards and end up at New Hope instead of Columbus and vice versa. They all know each other and it makes it mean more.”
Despite a rather lopsided record in the rivalry in favor of Columbus (0-5), seven of the 22 all-time meetings have been decided by 10 or fewer points.
The Falcons are 17-5 against the Trojans (0-4), winning the last six games between the two schools, but the gap seems to be shrinking. The last two games in this matchup have been low-scoring, closely-fought affairs, with a total margin of just 15 points, including the Falcons’ 8-3 win at Columbus last season and a 10-0 win at New Hope in 2021.
“We’re extremely excited for this rivalry,” Columbus head coach Josh Pulphus said. “It’s a friendly competition and it’s a game they’ll brag about and talk about for the next 10-15 years. Every year we’ve played, everything is thrown out the window. It’s always been a tough, competitive ballgame.”
Columbus scheduled a gauntlet of a non-district schedule to get ready for district play this season, and in their five losses, the Falcons have stayed competitive, losing two one-score games in the process.
They’ve scored 20 or more points in each of their last three games, something New Hope has failed to do in any game this season.
That’s added fuel to the fire for the Trojans, who are hoping to take advantage of a home game in front of what should be a packed house at Trojan Field.
“They all know each other and it makes it mean more,” Stillman said. “I don’t know if it would matter if we were both 5-0 or both 0-5. The game means a lot to both sides.”
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