Each year, thousands of fans turn out at Cameron Stadium to watch the Eisenhower-Lawton High game, and now that series has been recognized as one of the top 75 high school rivalries in the United States by “The Great American Rivalry Series.” This is a photo from last year’s game, and these two standouts, LHS running back Miles Davis and Ike defensive back Mark Berry, will both be involved again this year.
The annual battle on the gridiron between city rivals Lawton High and Eisenhower has grown to a national scale.
The Great American Rivalry Series selected the teams' meeting on Sept. 14 as a featured game this season and will broadcast the contest online for a nationwide audience to enjoy. The Series, which began in 2004, provides exposure to many high school football rivalries across the country, valuing the long-standing traditions of each.
The Series executive director Brandon Johnson said it began as a regional entity, but it has grown over time to encompass all of the United States.
"We operate out Lexington, Kentucky, so two of the games were in Louisville, and I don't recall where the other two games were," Johnson said. "It was a very small schedule in the beginning years, and over those 14 years, now entering our 15th season, we have expanded to 75 games across the country this year. There have been several years where we have eclipsed 100 games in a season. Through those 14 years, we're north of 700 games covered across 44 different states."
The LHS-Ike game was the only Oklahoma game selected this year, marking the sixth-straight year a Sooner State rivalry has been chosen.
The schools and the game will be recognized on the iHigh.com and GreatAmericanRivalry.com websites. After the game, fans can relive the excitement with photo galleries and game recaps.
Jenks vs. Union (2006, '07, '08, '09) and Westmoore vs. Southmoore ('13, '14, '15, '16) have gained the most notoriety from the media outlet, with each receiving four years of coverage. The other version of the "Moore War" between Moore and Westmoore was featured on three occasions -- '06, '09 and '17 -- while Millwood and Douglass were highlighted in '16.
Johnson is familiar with those popular rivalries, and he said his team of broadcasters is eager to make the trip back to the heartland.
"The big game that comes to mind is Jenks-Union," Johnson said. "There's some great football out in Oklahoma, and our team is excited they have this on their schedule. We're excited to come to Lawton this year, and we look forward to coming out there."
The schools also benefit in ways other than getting to play in front of a national audience.
The winning team is presented with the Great American Rivalry Series Championship Trophy, and one player is selected as the game's MVP and awarded a trophy and a medal.
If that wasn't enough, the top senior student athlete from each school receives the Rivalry Scholar Student-Athlete Scholarship Award, and the host school receives a donation to their athletic program for participating in the Series.
Of course, with so many great high school football rivalries out there, selecting games is no easy task.
According to Johnson, the Series typically receives anywhere from 225 to 250 nominations per year. However, he has a dedicated team assigned to the task, and after running each rivalry through a criteria, the group narrows the list down to a desirable number.
That criteria consists of history, tradition and competitiveness.
To meet the historic requirements, each rivalry must be at least 10 years or older. The game in which the concept originated -- DuPont Manual vs. Male in Louisville, Kent. -- started in 1893, making it one of the longest-running rivalry games in all of the country.
"The CEO and founder of the Series, Rick Ford, played in that game, and he understood the magnitude that it had on the student-athletes, not only during their time in the schools, but even years beyond that," Johnson said. "That's a game that draws 10,000-plus every year, and the stadium at Males holds only holds about 6 or 7,000 -- it's literally elbow-to-elbow. High school football is a special kind of niche, and it's nice to see even though attendance and interest in other sports are dwindling, that doesn't seem to be the case in a lot of these rivalries.
"Due to realignments and redistricting, there's some great rivalries dying off. But also true is there's a lot of great ones being born. We have a database of roughly 700 or 800 games across the country, but every year we sit back and look at different areas and go state-by-state and work backwards."
The Wolverines and Eagles easily meet that standard, for the teams have played 58 times since 1965, including five times in the playoffs.
And with history comes traditions.
Both schools hold celebratory cookouts during game week -- for LHS it's the Eagle Fry (fried chicken), and Ike has the Wolver-weenie Roast. Those are only a couple of events that help enhance the rivalry experience for all players, coaches and students alike into something they will never forget.
Add in the number of times the city championship was decided between the programs, and there is no denying the magnitude of the undying rivalry.
You can expect the Series crew to make appearances around the community during the week leading up to the big game as a way to better grasp the rivalry's overall lore.
"We always try to inject ourselves in the communities and become a part of the rivalry to learn more about it," Johnson said. "Whether it's a pep rally or exchanging a trophy, we always like to be a part of that, and that's what makes high school football rivalries of this magnitude so special." Then comes competitiveness, which is a bit of a gray area for this rivalry matchup. Although the overall series is close -- LHS leading 33-25 -- the past decade has not been indicative of that.
A Wolverines' win this year would it make it 10-straight over the Eagles. LHS has averaged 54.22 points during the win streak, holding Ike to 16.55 points per game in the process.
The Eagles' last win over the Wolverines came in 2008 -- a 9-7 decision.
Johnson said streaks like that are considered during the selection process, but it wasn't quite enough to keep the Great American Rivalry Series from coming to Lawton. The background of said rivalry also plays a role during its candidacy.
"If you've lost 20-straight, the other team probably doesn't consider it much of a rivalry," Johnson said. "A lot of it comes from the historical data we have on the games from year-to-year. As part of the nominations, we always ask the teams to provide some of the background for us, so we have that at our disposal."
To learn more, Johnson encourages fans of host cities and schools to follow the Great American Rivalry Series on social media.