Milam County rivals Rockdale and Cameron will fight for much more than something that rings in the 65th Battle of the Bell on Friday at Tiger Stadium.
With both teams 2-1 in District 10-3A, this year’s game in Rockdale could be a huge factor when playoff time comes around.
“We want to get the Bell back and we want to get on another winning streak.
“We want to be second in district because it’s big for the playoff seedings.”
In last year’s game, the Tigers lost 33-14 in a game where the Yoemen took a 14-0 lead at halftime and slipped away for good in the fourth thanks to key catches by now senior receiver Kobe Young.
CHS was expected to do the same thing this year until being upset 59-41 in their district opener by Troy, the now favorite to win District 10-3A-I.
Since the loss, they’ve blasted their past three opponents by a combined score of 149-14. First, they beating Katy-St. John 44-7, and then racked up more than 50 points in each of their games against Jarrell and Academy who they beat 55-0 and 50-7 these last two weeks.
Texas Football Magazine describes the 2019 Yoemen team them as a three-headed monster consisting of quarterback Braden Brashear, running back Nico Vargas and wide receiver Young. Brashear threw 25 TD passes last year and Vargas ran for more than 1,00 yards rushing and scoring 27 times last season.
The Yoemen also have a strong defense with linebackers Pat England and Eduardo Gil. Gil was defensive newcomer of the year in District 10-3A last season and the team across the river also has first team defensive back Calvin Stewart. Last year’s Cameron group was also missing some key players and have improved thanks to the return of lineman Domanique Borgas and corner back Billy Collier who were each injured for much of the 2018 season. “It’s the same blueprint as just about every other Cameron team,” Miller, who is coaching in his fourteenth-battle of the bell, said. “They have a really good quarterback, a really good running back, four dynamic receivers with a great offensive line and a defense that can fly around the field.
“They’re very well coached and I can guarantee it’s going to be a fight because they always play hard.”
HISTORY– Cameron and Rockdale have played each other since 1911 and had each other 28 times prior to the Old Sandow and Southern donating an old train bell as a prize for the winner of the game in 1954.
Since then, the two teams have played every year besides 1956 in the Battle of the Bell.
Cameron leads the Bell series 43-21 and leads the overally series 64-27-2.
The game has been touted by many networks and publications as the greatest rivalry in the state of Texas.
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