Heritage hosts Glass in last non-district duel between city rivals

Tonight’s 6:30 p.m. game between city rivals E.C. Glass and Heritage High will be the 45th meeting between the two schools. It also will be the last time the two teams will take the field with bragging rights being the only thing on the line as the Hilltoppers will be joining the Pioneers in the Seminole District next season.

WHERE: City Stadium

KICKOFF: 6:30 p.m.

RECORDS: E.C. Glass 0-1; Heritage 2-0

LAST WEEK: E.C. Glass lost to Franklin County 28-20; Heritage defeated Magna Vista 53-0.

FACTS: This is the last time that city bragging rights will be the only thing on line when E.C. Glass and Heritage meet as the Hilltoppers will be moving into the Seminole District next season. The Pioneers will also be retiring the jersey of astronaut Leland Melvin at halftime. A pair of second-half turnovers cost Glass its halftime lead last week against Franklin County. Heritage dismantled Magna Vista last week after struggling against Rustburg in its first game.

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Security tight for tonight’s Glass-Heritage game

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Glass holds a 29-14-1 advantage in the series, but the Pioneers have won the previous two clashes 35-7 in 2007 and 12-7 in 2006.

“The coaches try to treat it like any other game but for the kids (the game) does mean more,” Hilltoppers second-year head coach Richard Trent said. “It’s bragging rights for a year. It’s a big deal.”

Those are thoughts echoed by Pioneers coach Chris Jones, who is 4-2 against E.C. Glass since taking over at Heritage in 2002.

“It’s what every high school football game should be,” he said. “They are a true rival and we won’t have to worry about getting the kids up to play the game. We do treat it differently. The coaches know one another, the players know one another. It’s an important game. Bragging rights are on the line.”

A half-time ceremony to retire the jersey number of former Heritage football player Leland Melvin, who made his first space shuttle mission with NASA on Feb. 20, should only add to the excitement of this year’s rivalry, though the earlier start time and longer than usual intermission could also serve as a distraction.

Leland, who has served as a tremendous source of pride for the Pioneers, will present the framed school flags that he carried with him into space to Heritage Principal Dr. Mark Miear and another to Lynchburg Mayor Joan Foster and Vice Mayor Bert Dodson.

In return, Dr. Miear along with Leland’s football coaches at Heritage — Jimmy Green and assistants Wally Gilbert, Jeff Pultz, Rufus Knight, and Mark Storm — will present Leland with his game jersey, No. 3, before both the E. C. Glass and Heritage marching bands play a shortened versions of their halftime shows.

Parking could be a problem and fans are encouraged to arrive early with tickets — through pre-sales at the schools — or with correct change in hand for the 6:30 p.m. kickoff.

The young Pioneers come into tonight’s game with a 2-0 record after crushing Magna Vista 53-0 last Friday at City Stadium. Heritage scored the first three times it had the ball.

That was a great improvement from the Pioneers’ mistake-marred (five fumbles, 13 penalties) season opener at Rustburg where the Pioneers trailed 7-6 at the half before rallying for a fourth-quarter score and 12-7 victory over the Red Devils.

“The biggest difference was having a game of experience,” Jones said. “We gained confidence from that first game. People started settling down and grasping what we were asking them to do. We got a huge boost in confidence (from the Magna Vista game).”

The Hilltoppers lost their season-opener versus Franklin County last week at Ferrum College 28-20. E.C. Glass held a 20-14 lead at the half against the Eagles, but three second-half Hilltoppers’ turnovers led to two Eagles scores and a 28-20 loss for Glass.

Despite the loss to Franklin County, the Hilltoppers come away from the game with some newfound confidence, after finishing the 2007 season with a 1-9 record that included a pair of losses to the Eagles by a combined score of 61-2.

“We feel like we are much further along than we were last year,” Trent said. “It would have taken us quite a while to score 20 points last year. We had 310 yards of offense but had four fumbles and lost all four.”

The biggest change in Glass’ offense has been the switch to the split-back veer, the same formation Jones introduced to the Pioneers, after using a spread attack for the past few seasons.

“Early on in the veer, you are little more apt to turn the ball over, but the biggest thing is that the guys have bought in and that’s 98 percent of the battle,” Trent said.

The one thing both coaches agree upon is that the team that has the cleanest game will likely emerge victorious.

“We have to protect the football,” Trent said. “The team that handles the pressure better and makes the fewest mistakes will most likely win. The game boils down to who can eliminate the mistakes.”