This is an opinion piece.

It looks like the Thomasville vs. Jackson football rivalry will come to an end – at least for now – this fall.

Thomasville has decided not to play the annual game, which began in 1916 and has been played every year since 1976. The Tigers would have been scheduled to play in Jackson in Game 5 in 2023.

“It’s kind of heartbreaking,” Jackson principal Ken Harbuck said. “There are a lot of people in Thomasville and Jackson who grew up playing in this rivalry. I played in it. It’s been a huge game. It’s always been Jackson and Thomasville. That is THE big game, and we didn’t want it to end.”

According to Harbuck, Thomasville first notified Jackson of its intent not to play this fall when Aggies coach Cody Flournoy received a text from Thomasville coach Clint Anderson late last month.

“We were obviously surprised,” Harbuck said. “Coach Flo tried to call him back. He didn’t answer. This was on a Tuesday I think. I called the principal (James Sims) on Friday. He told me that him, the coach, the superintendent and the police department decided not to play because of safety concerns, but nothing has been specified.”

Since that time, the schools have exchanged tense letters. Harbuck wrote Sims, saying there was no basis for the safety concerns and asking for monetary compensation of more than $14,000 if Thomasville didn’t play at Jackson this year after the Aggies made the trip to Thomasville in 2022.

Thomasville City Schools athletic director Randall Fullington, in a letter dated April 28, wrote back to Harbuck, stating there was no signed two-year football contract between the schools and, as such, there would be no compensation.

“Our coaches have the autonomy to create their own schedules, and it is up to their discretion to include whomever they wish,” the letter stated. “The coaches, the administration and I as athletic director stand by the decision not to schedule Jackson High in football for the 2023 school year.”

Welp. Ok then.

It certainly would seem there is much, much more to the story but for now at least it looks like the rivalry has been halted.

“The only thing I’m really still aggravated about is, ‘OK, you decided to cancel the game. There is nothing we can do about it,’ but for them to come out and say it was for safety reasons … it made it look like, ‘We are going to cancel the game, but we are going to make it look like it is your fault,’” Harbuck said. “I guess I’m searching now for the why in all of it.”

Jackson leads the overall series 50-39-6 and has won three of the last four meetings, though Thomasville won 58-14 in 2020.

Interestingly, Highway 43 rival Clarke County also has stopped playing the Aggies. The Jackson-Clarke County rivalry has been played 106 times, but the two did not play in 2022. Jackson is currently a Class 4A school. Thomasville is in 3A and Clarke County 2A.

Clarke County and Thomasville also have played 106 times, and that rivalry is ongoing.

Welcome back

It’s great to see Phil Lazenby back in coaching.

The Hall of Famer left Bayside Academy abruptly in December after 16 years and 13 playoff appearances but has been hired to start the football program at Bayshore Christian School in Fairhope.

Bayshore already has achieved athletic success in multiple sports, has just broken ground on a new high school and now is diving into football.

It hasn’t been a hasty decision by athletic director Jeff Hauge and the Bayshore administration. Talks have been ongoing for at least two years about the possibility of starting football, and Lazenby is certainly a home run hire. No one could argue that.

The 48-year coaching veteran has won 200 games, more than half of which came at Bayside, and seems invigorated by the thought of starting a program from the ground up and teaching the fundamentals of the game.

Phil Lazenby needs to be coaching but more than that needs to be mentoring our young people. I’m glad he has another chance to do just that.

Another huge hire

Gadsden City High this week announced the hire of Ralphael Graves to lead the school’s boys basketball program.

The Titans also promoted former coach Reginald Huff to athletic director.

Graves announced in 2021 he was retiring from coaching after one year at Mae Jemison. At the time, he cited family demands. Prior to that, he built a small school dynasty at Sacred Heart, winning four straight state championships and more than 200 games overall.

Reginald Huff, meanwhile, has been a Gadsden-area legend since I was a Cub reporter at the Gadsden Times. His basketball teams at Litchfield and Gadsden City combined to win 542 games and make six final four appearances.

His heart is in Gadsden. He will continue to do well there. Congrats coach!

Gadsden City also named Jay Tinker as girls basketball coach.

Thought for the Week

“What can you do today to put a smile on someone’s face?”

Ben Thomas is the high school sportswriter at AL.com. He has been named one of the 50 legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Follow him on twitter at @BenThomasPreps or email him at [email protected]. He can be heard weekly on “Inside High School Sports” on SportsTalk 99.5 FM in Mobile or on the free IHeart Radio App at 2 p.m. Wednesdays.