Blytheville Chickasaws head coach Ben Fisher stated earlier in the week that this was the closest to a “rivalry” as it has been in a long time and Friday night’s showdown proved Fisher correct. The Chicks (1-0) defeated county rival Osceola (0-1) 26-21 at Haley Field in a back-and-forth matchup. The ‘Noles scored first on a 12-yard pass from senior quarterback Carl Miner to junior receiver Greg Hooks with 6:02 left in the first quarter. Junior kicker Kenyon Troupe’s PAT was good to give the ‘Noles a 7-0 lead. Johnny Appleby/Special to the CN Blytheville’s Amani McChristian runs upfield against Osceola, Friday night, at Haley Field. On the ensuing kickoff Chicks’ junior returner Amani McChristian ran the ball to the house but a holding penalty brought the ball back. The drive would later end when Chicks senior quarterback Jaheim Carter’s pass was intercepted by ‘Noles junior corner Dan Newson. OHS led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter. The Chicks didn’t waste much time, however, as Carter found McChristian for a 33-yard touchdown reception at the 10:59 mark. Chicks junior kicker Brian Denkins’ PAT was good to tie the game at 7. On Osceola’s next drive the Chicks forced a three-and-out and the ‘Noles punt bounced off the back of a Seminole and the Chicks recovered on the Osceola five-yard line. Carter found senior receiver Corey Weatherspoon in the end zone four plays later to give the Chicks a 13-7 lead. Denkins’ PAT was good, boosting the Chicks’ lead to seven with 8:27 left in the half. The ‘Noles answered back when quarterback Kam Turner found an opening and took the ball 25 yards for a Seminole touchdown. The PAT was good, tying the game at 14. With 1:34 left in the half Chicks junior safety Willie Bell intercepted Miner’s pass. At the half, Chicks junior running back Jermel Woods led the Chicks with 45 yards on 12 carries. Carter was 7 for 13 passing with 75 yards and two touchdown passes. The Chicks’ total yardage was 112. The Seminoles got the ball coming out of halftime but on the second play of the drive, Bell knocked the ball free with a big hit on a ‘Nole receiver. The Chicks recovered on their own 44-yard-line. Six plays later Carter found the end zone on a seven-yard keeper with 9:04 left in the third. Denkins’ PAT was no good but the Chicks led 20-14. With 5:28 left to go in the third quarter Bell intercepted another ‘Noles pass. The drive would eventually stall. OHS rebounded, however, with a 45-yard keeper by Turner and regained the lead, 21-20. On the next drive, Blytheville would eventually punt the ball back to the ‘Noles but the ball hit off of an OHS player and Chicks senior cover man Garrett Cloud recovered it giving the Chicks the ball back heading into the final quarter of play. Denkins was the quarterback on the second play in the quarter and dashed 23 yards for the Chicks to regain the lead, 26-21. The Chicks defense held the ‘Noles on both drives to come away with the victory. ‘Noles head coach Robert Hooks gave credit to Fisher and the Chickasaws. “Well, I thought that they had a good scheme to come out on the edge and to run it inside,” Hooks said. “They did a good job at running the football and they took shots. When they took shots and they made plays. We took two shots down here in the red zone and their kids came up and made plays. We didn’t finish and we had the ball on the two-and-a-half yard line and we didn’t finish. Experience. I hate that we have to learn this way but we are going to go back to the drawing board and grow and learn from this one.” Fisher was proud of how his guys were able to hold the Seminoles at the end and gave credit to Hooks and the Seminoles on their play. “Osceola deserves a ton of credit,” Fisher explained. “They came out and were ready. They hit us in the mouth. I knew they were going to. I don’t know if our kids were but a game like that anytime you can beat your rival, no matter the score, it’s a good ball game. I’m super proud of our kids. Penalties and our conditioning is not where it needs to be but we got the win, that’s the most important thing. We are going to enjoy it tonight and get back to work. We’ve got West Memphis coming up next week. So we don’t have a whole lot of time to celebrate.” The Chicks will look to entertain the 6A powerhouse West Memphis Blue Devils next Friday night. WMHS is 1-0 on the season after defeating Little Rock Central 35-0 on Aug. 21.