Texas High. Longview. Two teams that have engraved themselves into the heart of East Texas high school football. Now in different districts, both teams still have tensions that come up in conversations surrounding the sport in the Piney Woods.

This old rivalry seemed as if it had never ceased when the Tiger football team scrimmaged the Lobos on Friday night at Tiger Stadium. While this was an unofficial contest, it was a chance for both teams to get players and schemes prepared for the grueling season ahead.

The visiting team definitely seemed to have the better of the two evenings as their offensive and defensive lines controlled the line of scrimmage for the majority of the game. The defending 6A state semifinalists seemed more than primed to make another run at the state title.

“We found out what we need to do to improve our game,” senior Chris Lyles said. “We realize that we need to work on some things before the season.”

Having watched film and taken in what they can improve on, the Tigers hope to use this experience to build for the upcoming season.

“Obviously, we have some things we need to fix,” senior Chris Sutton said. “It was good to see things live and learn from our mistakes on the game film.”

The Tigers have to prepare for a quick turnaround as they get ready to face another 6A powerhouse in Pflugerville Hendrickson, this time in a game that counts towards a push to the playoffs. The Hawks enter the season ranked twentieth in 6A, according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.

“It should be a good matchup,” Lyles said. “They’re a bigger school than we are, but we just need to do our jobs and finish as a team.”

The Tigers face off against the Hawks in Waxahachie on Thursday night at 7 p.m.