Other than the changing foliage, perhaps the best gauge of the arrival of late summer in Cherokee County is the annual Cedar Bluff/Sand Rock football game.

Usually held on either the first or second game of the season, the Wildcats hold a 6-4 edge over the Tigers in the last 10 years. The Rockers have won six of the past seven contests, while the Bluff boys took the 1991, ’92 and ’93 games.

Sand Rock head coach Russell Jacoway has been at the helm for each of the above battles, and looks forward every year to the traditional gridiron scrap.

“Cedar Bluff is always very excited about playing our team. Coach Smith has a lot of talented athletes, and they’re looking to have a big year. It should be an interesting and competitive game.”

Steve Smith, who began as Tiger head coach in 1995, agreed with his Wildcat counterpart, noting that the rivalry does not only extend to the action on the field.

“We’re looking forward to this year’s game. Since it’s a county game, a lot of the kids know one an-other, as well as the parents and everyone else in the communities. It’s certainly developed into an ex-citing rivalry over the years.”

Current Cedar Bluff Principal Bobby Mintz (‘93’’94) and current Childersburg (and ex-CCHS) coach Jeff Bullen (‘91-’92) preceded Smith as Tiger head coach in the series’ past 10 games.

Cedar Bluff’s 14-6 win in ’91 was the Tigers’ first “Battle of the Cats” victory in eight years. It was a hard-fought contest, as the teams combined for nine fumbles.

In ’92, Devlin Clifton scored two touchdowns to lead the visiting Ti-gers to a 21-13 victory.

The ’93 clash was a defensive battle, as Thomas Sick’s 27 yard field goal in overtime gave host Cedar Bluff a 10-7 win. The teams combined for 12 punts.

Jeremiah McMichen, the first of three McMichen signal callers at the Rock, stepped up in the ’94 Battle of the Cats, as the junior quarterback’s three touchdown passes were the difference in host Sand Rock’s 19-7 victory.

Nathan Handy’s last-minute touchdown allowed the Wildcats to nip the host Tigers 13-12 in the ’95 game, in which Cedar Bluff’s Ger-maine Harris scored on an 88-yard interception return.

In ’96, host Sand Rock came out on top 28-6 behind Ty Abernathy’s two touchdowns.

The Tigers’ ’97 unbeaten regular season featured a 28-21 win over the visiting Wildcats. Ben Fife, Shaun Palmer, Derrick Stallings and Tyrone Moore all had standout games for Cedar Bluff.

The ’98 contest was another convincing Wildcat win, this time by a score of 41-0. Host Sand Rock finished the game with 359 total yards while limiting Cedar Bluff to 96.

In ’99, the Wildcats posted a 41-0 halftime lead on the way to a 47-6 pasting of the host Tigers. Ryan Ro-bertson led Sand Rock with three rushing touchdowns while Lucas McMichen threw for 115 yards and a touchdown.

Last season, the host Wildcats edged the Bluff 22-19. It was Sand Rock’s first game in three years without standout quarterback Lu-cas McMichen (now a member of the West Georgia University gridiron squad) running the team’s Pro-I offense. Brandon Abernathy sparked the Rock offense with 122 rushing yards and one touchdown.

Cedar Bluff hosts Sand Rock on Friday at 7:30 p.m