In Morganton, Freedom to host East Burke for 50th installment of storied Fat Friday rivalry (2024)

JUSTIN EPLEYSports editor

While it may not be as prestigious as it was in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, the Fat Friday football rivalry between East Burke and Freedom retains its position as the most storied series in Burke County gridiron history and remains an important game for players, coaches, parents and fans who don Cavaliers blue and Patriots red.

That significance will again be on display this Friday in Morganton as Freedom hosts East Burke for the 50th installment of the Fat Friday rivalry, which has been played every season since EBHS opened in 1974 with the exception of the spring 2021 season, which was both delayed from the fall of 2020 and abbreviated due to COVID-19.

While Freedom has mostly owned the rivalry for the past decade-plus, taking the all-time series record from an 18-18 tie after East Burke won the 2009 game to 30-18 after winning 12 straight from 2010-22, the Cavaliers reinvigorated the rivalry with a big win at home in Icard last season to draw back within 30-19 through 49 all-time meetings.

Kickoff for the 50th matchup between the Patriots and Cavaliers will be at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.

While the game traditionally capped the regular season for decades while the two teams were members of the Northwestern 4A Conference together, it since has been the season-opener for a few years before slotting into an annual Week 2 matchup in recent seasons, as it will be again this weekend.

This year’s game features a pair of 0-1 teams as Freedom built an early lead before narrowly losing to Bunker Hill at home in Week 1 in the head coaching debut of J.K. Adkins, a 1998 FHS graduate who returned to the program following back-to-back NCHSAA 1A state championships at Mount Airy, while East Burke was shut out by Christ School of the NCISAA at home.

Tim McMahon, who coached Freedom from 1995 to 2005, is the winningest head coach in the history of the rivalry, compiling an 8-3 record across his 11 games, including six straight from 1997 to 2002 when the rivalry was still at its biggest.

He also witnessed the series from its inception, first as a young fan and then as an FHS player.

“That rivalry has been a part of my football journey for as long as I can remember,” McMahon said. “One of the very first memories I have of Freedom High is being a fan back in 1974 at the very first (Fat Friday) game played in the stadium there at Freedom. It was a great game. It was a one-point game and Freedom won 8-7. At the time, I guess I was about 10 years old, that stadium looked like a professional stadium and it was full of people. I just remember thinking, ‘This is different.’

“Growing up and being able to play under coach (Jug) Wilson and being a part of that game was probably the most exciting football game I ever participated in as a player, by far. It had more meaning to it, more emotion and electricity in the game. There was nothing I ever participated in that was even close to that. It was an awfully special football game. It creates memories for your lifetime when you play in something like that. I’m sure the other guys before me or who came after me in the Fat Friday game could remember all the plays. I remember all the plays in that game, it seems like, just like it was yesterday. I remember the outcome and being so relieved and excited that we were able to win that my senior year.”

McMahon lost his first two Fat Fridays as Freedom’s head coach, 17-14 in 1995 and 17-15 in 1996, but won 28-14 in 1997, 31-28 in Fat Friday XXV in 1998, 45-12 in 1999, 34-7 in 2000, 27-20 in 2001 and 28-6 in 2002 before losing 17-14 in 2003. His Patriot teams then won 10-7 in 2004 and 24-13 in 2005 to wrap up his tenure on Independence Boulevard.

“Of course, coaching in it is just nerve-wracking the whole week,” McMahon said. “Every time we had that game, it so dominated the season. I don’t think it’s quite like that now, but back then, I can remember a couple times when we went into that game undefeated and it really didn’t matter because you needed to have that one on your side to have a good season. There was just a lot of pressure in that football game as a coach. I think I liked it a lot more as a player than I did as a coach.

“It was the last game and a lot of times, if both teams weren’t playing with playoffs or a conference championship on the line, at least one of us was. That always added into it. All of that stuff matters, but I don’t think if we had been out there playing in the middle of the parking lot that it would have meant any different. It didn’t really matter.”

The winningest coach on the East Burke side of the rivalry is Wayne Fletcher, who, like McMahon, served as a head coach in 11 Fat Fridays. From 1984-94, he tallied a 6-5 record. That included three straight wins of 12-7 in 1984, 3-0 in 1985 and 20-15 in 1986 to begin his tenure as the Cavs’ head coach. EB lost 42-23 in 1987, won 17-10 in 1988, lost 20-7 in 1989, won 28-21 in 1990 and 17-16 in 1991, and lost 29-0 in 1992, 25-7 in 1993 and 22-14 in 1994.

Fletcher also holds the record for defeating the most other coaches in the rivalry’s history with four, topping FHS teams coached by Ken Treadway, Mike Mabry, Pete Stout and Johnny Anderson.

“In the years up to 2009, Freedom and East Burke were 4A teams. We were big, proud schools,” Fletcher reflected. “As soon as the schools broke up, it’s not the same rivalry. It’s still a big game. But in the old days, it was a big-money gate that helped the athletic programs for all sports at both schools.

“I coached in 29 Fat Friday games. I made a lot of great memories with a lot of great players and coaches. ... I have no prediction for this year. It’s a toss-up.”

This year’s Freedom team is led by juniors in Kaden Davis at quarterback and Kobe Johnson at wide receiver/cornerback, along with running back Jaiveon Belin and wide receiver Tiras Walker. The Cavaliers are led by quarterbacks Calvin Vue and Carter Bennett, along with ball-carriers Zayne Newman and Caden Buff.

Prediction: Freedom.

Other county action

In a Thursday night varsity contest, Draughn (0-1) will meet up with the Greenville Hurricanes (1-1) of South Carolina for the first time with a 7 p.m. kickoff in Valdese. The Hurricanes are a replacement opponent after Patton elected not to field a varsity football team this fall.

Draughn and Patton were scheduled to play a JV contest on Friday in Valdese, but that game has been postponed due to a shortage of officials. No makeup date has been determined yet.

Last Friday, the varsity Wildcats hosted Hunter Huss and were blanked 44-0. The Hurricanes are 1-1 after falling to the Anderson (S.C.) Cavaliers 7-0 to open the season before defeating Thomas Jefferson 25-21 on the strength of a 22-point second quarter in Greenville one week ago.

Prediction: Draughn.