Homer haynesville football rivalry
Creating a football series as fierce as it is enduring....
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By Wesley Harris
Claiborne Parish Library
Homer (7-2) and Haynesville (8-1) will tangle on the gridiron tonight in their quests to reach the postseason.
The century-old rivalry is one of legends in high school sports.
Had you been around 50 to 100 years ago, Thanksgiving Day would have been the day you journeyed to the Homer or Haynesville stadium to watch the local teams battle one another.
In the 1920s and for decades thereafter, many high schools and colleges played games on Thanksgiving afternoon.
The annual matchup between Homer and Haynesville, dating back to 1907, included a Thanksgiving Day game alternating between the two towns.
No bright lights lit up the stadiums in 1907. There were no stands to sit in; everyone stood on the sidelines to watch the games.
The stadiums lacked lights, so games were played during daylight hours.
The team uniforms—anything but uniform—were bought by the players’ parents or with money earned by the players themselves. If the uniform