The Battle of the ‘Boro has been played since 1974 after Murfreesboro’s Central High closed its doors in 1972 upon the opening of the two new schools of Riverdale and Oakland. In 1974 the schools started competing in football with Riverdale winning the first meeting 10-7. Each squad won twice in the first four meetings before Riverdale had a six-game winning streak in the series. Oakland, which has 3 State Titles, took home the Great American Rivalry Championship Trophy in 2014 with a 42-20 win, but the Warriors hold the series lead with a 32-13 record.

MVP

Lazarius Patterson

Oakland

SCHOLAR ATHLETES

Cameron Massengill

Oakland

Cameron has played football at Oakland High School for 3 years. He is one of the strongest players on the team pound for pound. Cameron plans to go to college and major in electrical engineering.

Sam Glasgow

Riverdale

Sam is a 3 year varsity football starter. He is a 3 time state DECA competitor and made it to DECA nationals last year. He is undecided on the college he will attend, but will pursue a degree in business marketing.

HALL OF FAME

Tony Tate

Oakland

Oakland High School is proud to recognize Tony Tate, a 1981 graduate of Oakland where he played linebacker all 4 years. He has made valuable contributions to the Oakland football program on and off the field. From 2006-2008, Mr. Tate was the Oakland End Zone Club president, which is the fundraising arm of the Oakland football program. Mr. Tate currently helps maintain the playing field here at Ray Hughes Stadium and also did so from 2006-2008. The entire Oakland family is proud to call Tony Tate one of our own, and we are happy to honor him tonight.

John Batey

Riverdale

John played in the Riverdale/Oakland rivalry game his sophomore, junior, and senior years. In 2001 he was a Mr. Football finalist. He also was the offensive and defensive MVP of the 2001 State Championship game. John was also a captain of the team during his senior season. He had an outstanding career while he played at Riverdale High School.

GAME SUMMARY

This year's battle saw the Oakland Patriots easily defeat the Riverdale Warriors 43-14 at Oakland's Ray Hughes stadium. Actually, for one half the game was the slobber-knocker fans had hoped for, with Oakland only leading 15-8 at halftime. Then came quarter No. 3 and Oakland's 21 unanswered points. Each team scored in the fourth, but the third quarter proved devastating.