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Concord vs. Kannapolis carries decades of memories
Photo by James Nix
A.L Brown's Jamill Lott carries the ball against Concord during the annual Battle of the Bell game Friday Nov. 7, 2008. The Wonders defeated Concord 56-6 in the 78 annual meeting between the two teams.
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Published: November 5, 2009
Updated: 11/05/2009 05:54 pm
There are various ways to measure the intensity of the Concord-Kannapolis football rivalry.
One of the best is only a year old. Last year, it was obvious to anyone paying attention that the game was going to be one-sided.
Final score: Wonders 56, Spiders 6.
But that didn't keep the crowd from being large, because when it comes to this game, tradition trumps all.
As you would expect, there is a lot of history in the series that dates back to 1931, the oldest continuous football rivalry in the state.
More history was made last year and not just because Kannapolis' 56 points were the most scored by a winner and the 50-point margin of victory the largest.
No, a big moment was one maybe no one saw, when veteran Concord coach E.Z. Smith III stopped near the Spiders' fieldhouse and gazed back down at Bailey Stadium.
After 29 years, he thought it might be the last time he would coach in the rivalry, so he took a last look. Then he made his departure official by resigning in January.
Concord holds a 38-36-4 lead going into the 79th annual game, to be played at Kannapolis Memorial Stadium on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
The first Concord-Kannapolis game was contested at Webb Field. Concord won that one and has never trailed in overall wins and losses.
Until 1952, the Kannapolis team was J.W. Cannon High School. Then A.L. Brown High School represented Kannapolis.
The game became "The Battle of the Bell" in 1950 when Southern Railways — to promote sportsmanship — donated a bell to be held for one year by the winner.
During the game, the Bell sits on the holder's sideline, waiting to be rung, and won.
There are specific rules for exchanging the Bell and for painting it. The last time it was exchanged was in 2007, when Kannapolis won.
That ended a streak of four years in a row when the Bell was exchanged, with the Wonders winning in 2005, while the Spiders won in 2004 and 2006.
The most recent three games in the series have resulted in one-sided results.
One of the most memorable periods in the series was from 1989 through the 2000 season, when the two teams played on the final date of the regular season with conference championship implications involved. Kannapolis went 9-3 in those 12 games.
With the expanded playoffs that are now in effect, it's hard to believe that the 1995 game, a 5-0 Kannapolis win, was not only for the league title but for the only playoff spot the South Piedmont Conference received that year.
The Spiders and Wonders were aligned in different conferences in 2001-2004, and the game was played in September.
Even when realignment put A.L. Brown and Concord into the same league again in 2005, a vote of conference representatives placed the game in October, not the final Friday, for 2005 and 2006.
Now it's back as the final regular-season game for the third season in a row.
The Wonders (9-1, 6-0) — riding an eight-game win streak this season — have already clinched the outright SPC title, but the Spiders (4-6, 4-2) are on a four-game winning streak of their own and in a four-way tie for second place.
• Contact Steve Winzenread: 704-789-9147.
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