It is called the Unity Bowl, this annual cross-county football game between Gentry High School of Indianola and Thomas Edwards High School of Ruleville.
However, today’s 7 p.m. kickoff at Edwards High School will continue the rivalry which exists between these two Sunflower County football teams.
With both teams entering the game with a 0-1 record, the 4A member Gentry High Rams will attempt to rebound from last week’s season-opening 26-6 road loss suffered to the 6A member Greenville High Hornets.
Meanwhile, the 3A member Tigers of Edwards High will be like-minded looking for success after they fell by a 47-0 score to 4A member Greenwood High School.
As for last week’s loss to Greenville High, Gentry Head Coach Derrick Farrow noted, “We made first-game mistakes and are still looking for that cohesion and consistency.”
Tonight, the Rams will take on a Tigers squad no doubt bent on not only ending Gentry High’s four-game win streak, but also to help end the six consecutive losing seasons the Edwards High football program has suffered.
According to Coach Farrow, “Edwards High will put up a fight, they always do. We must be ready to come out and play.”
Last season, the Rams earned a narrow 14-6 victory over the Tigers, who would move on to struggle through a 1-8 season.
However, that 2024 decision over Thomas Edwards High proved to be the only win the Rams would earn that season, while themselves struggling through a 1-10 campaign.
Historically, in addition to their four-game win streak over the Tigers, the Rams own a 38-14-1 advantage in this long-running series between these two schools.
In last Friday’s loss to Greenville High, a 20-0 halftime deficit proved too large for the Rams to overcome.
The Rams avoided a shutout in the fourth quarter when Fabien Washington Jr. pulled in a 35-yard touchdown catch, with a pass thrown by sophomore quarterback Jadarius Gibson.
