With spirit week activities, pep rallies and hype leading up to Battle’s 5th annual homecoming game but this time they faced a familiar rival Hickman.

When asking sophomore football fan A.J Pittman on how he feels about the hype around this game, he said “It’s dope how they hype games up and make games and dances cooler and have more meaning.”

Mr.Taylor, Athletic Director, was asked about his thoughts on the crosstown rivalry game against Hickman this past Friday and said, “I think it is a great event for the high school community and for the school as Battle is looking to build traditions and become more established and it’s a big opportunity for students to have fun with these events through homecoming week.”.

Battle’s last two games against Hickman had a combined score of 125-13, but this game wasn’t just another game to the team. This game had much more meaning as Spartans planned to devote this game to Jon Dinter, Battle’s own linebacker coach, husband and father who passed away from cancer around a year ago. Battle wore gray uniforms and asked fans to wear gray, the color that represents brain cancer support, to honor Dinter.

The spotlight of the game added extra intensity and energy to the players as they burst out of the building and onto the gridiron.
Our Spartans came out firing on all cylinders as they dominated the first quarter! Running back Darren Jordan got the game started with an 18 yard touchdown run and a 51 yard throw from quarterback Jaren Lewis to receiver Drey Tyler for a touchdown. This put the Spartans up 15-0. Late in the second quarter, Lewis threw another touchdown to Tyler to extend the lead to 28 and capping off an impressive first half. Coming out of halftime, the Spartans’ momentum did not slow down a bit. On Battle’s first offensive drive, Jordan picked up 60 yards and a rushing touchdown to give the Spartans a comfortable 35-0 lead.

The Spartans only scored 7 more points in the fourth quarter from Lewis’s scramble for 8 yards to the goal line. The Kewpies continued to struggle with offensive woes and were shut out by the Spartans 42-0.

Head Coach Justin Conyers said, “I think we’ve responded well coming off of two straight losses, and I think [the team] showed they can handle bumps in the season.”

Adrian Kenney, safety, and Tre Morris, linebacker, both seniors, made valuable defensive plays for the team. Kenney got a beneficial interception and Morris successfully made seven tackles throughout the game. Offensively, Lewis, Tyler, and Jordan all shared a piece of the pie by scoring two touchdowns a piece, helping the Spartans to improve 4-2 on the season.