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Show Great rivalry More than fun; it was history CEDAR CITY Last Friday's game between Cedar High School and Dixie High School made history. The two teams played their last games as arch rivals. Next year the two teams will meet, but the long-standing feud will more than likely be destroyed by the opening of a new high school in Washington. Dixie and the new school will then become arch rivals, and Cedar and Dixie will be in different classes. No one knows for sure just when and where the first game of this long rivalry took place,-but what everyone does know is how much both schools wanted to win when they met. Jim Nielsen of New Harmony remembered the first time the two schools played as 11 man teams in 1949. during that time span. Dixie had a reputation as being a football powerhouse. Jack Bishop was the head football coach at Cedar High at the time and wanted nothing more than to end the Redmen losing streak. Cedar would play Dixie in the Flyer homecoming. It looked like everyone in town showed up in St.George to see if Bishop's Redmen could pull it off. Cedar played inspirational football, and, as the clock wore down, the Redmen, their thousands of Cedar fans and an unhappy town of St.George saw time expire with the Redmen winning 10-0. Dixie's winning streak had been ended and no longer would Dixie dominate Cedar as they did before. No one knows for sure just when and where the first game of this long rivalry took place, but what everyone does know is how much . both schools wanted to win when they met. Before that date both schools had played as six man teams. "We didn't , have them on our schedule so we played a practice game, and Dixie won 7-0." Nielsen was a halfback for Cedar City. Dixie dominated most of the football games between the two schools, but that did little to dampen the spirits of either team. Dixie's success in the 60s and 70s was largely due to a coach named Walt Brooks. Cedar beat Dixie only twice the entire time Brooks coached at Dixie. One of the most memorable games for Cedar High football fans was in 1975. Dixie had defeated the Redmen every year for 13 years and had taken the state championship more than once Brooks retired from Dixie High and Bishop went on to bigger and better things at Southern Utah State College. This year the Dixie Flyers defeated the Redmen for the first time in several years and they did it twice. "You can throw out the record books." is a common saying whenever the two schools meet. This has come about not only because of the rivalry but because of the teams' mutual respect for each other. The classic football rivalry between the two may no longer exist, but Cedar and Dixie fans alike will never forget the respect and feud between their teams. S . v , Mm, a - - - -'- - Sophomore quarterback Jeff Heap hands off to teammate Derek Bonne in fourth quarter action of Cedar's homecoming game. The Kedmen will now take this week off before facing Springville Oct. 15. |