Twin cities battle against each other tonight in a showdown of the lone star and the natural state. For many years this rivalry has rocked the Texarkana area, with numerous stars emerging from it such as Ryan Mallett and Cobi Hamilton of the Texas Side and Dennis Johnson and Kierra Harris of the Arkansas side. It’s not just a rivalry; it’s a championship game for a lot of players.

A battle for the city’s top team isn’t easy, it takes hard work and preparation to become successful. Whether you’re suffering in the heat during two-a-days or struggling to finish that last rep in the weight room.

“We’ve been working hard since last year,” senior safety Marquan Daniels said. “We’ve been in the weight room consistently, and conditioning harder than ever.”

This years should be really exciting because Arkansas is prepping in a different way, with a brand new roster and brand new determination.

“We’re working really hard , and we’re going over a lot of plays,” junior Arkansas High running back Quadarius Cheatham said. “Everytime we touch the ball were constantly going a 110% percent never backing down always staying up.”

Friday night is going to be one very exciting game, a fierce battle on the gridiron between two teams down to the end. Despite the efforts of Arkansas High, the Tigers think they have the win locked up.

“This year is going to be the year we beat Arkansas down,” senior Texas High defensive lineman Demarquan Bailey said. “I expect it to be a blow out with us coming out on top.”

This whole week has been wild for this game, with both schools preparing for this awesome showdown; a lot of school spirit will consistently be on point.

“School spirit is exciting,” sophomore Aaliyah Hernandez said. “It’s getting us all pumped up for the upcoming game this week.”

It’s no time for jokes. This is a very serious game to many of the players. A lot of them depend on this game to make or break their season.

“We’re working on a lot power plays especially on the defensive side of the ball,” senior defensive lineman Justin Lewis said. “We are all preparing some kind of way but the line is working really hard, and we won’t stop till we win.”

For many of the seniors, this is bittersweet being the last Texas vs. Arkansas game. Most of our seniors are preparing themselves for this big finale.

“It’s the last game we will play, against Arkansas we’ve been working hard with different plays,” senior linebacker Anthony Rhone said.” We’re not allowing anyone to take plays off or struggle. We’re a team , and we’re determined to win this game.”