Tigers have been in control of the Black Diamond District longer than they have with Siegfried and Roy, or so it seems.
The Haysi Tigers and Honaker Tigers have claimed every BDD football title since Hurley won the championship in 1992.
Hurley came close to winning again in 1996, when it defeated Honaker, but lost at home, 7-6, to Haysi. The Rebels gained revenge at Haysi, however, by beating the Tigers in the first round of the 1996 playoffs.
The Rebels’ star player that season was Greg Tester, who ran for more than 2,000 yards. Tester, in his fourth year as head coach at Hurley, has quietly brought the Rebel football program back to respectability, if not contender status, in the Black Diamond. His club went 6-4 last season, but was beaten soundly by both Tigers squads.
Fast forward to 2009, and it could be an entirely different year in the BDD.
Haysi and Honaker are rebuilding, while Twin Valley is struggling to keep its program afloat. Hurley, meanwhile, lost just two defensive and four offensive regulars.
“You have to take Hurley seriously,” Haysi coach James Colley says. “They’re the most experienced team in the BDD. They have more people back than anyone else.”
Colley could be on to something. Hurley, which features one of the most exciting running backs in the area in Gary Blankenship, returns seven offensive and nine defensive starters, as many or more on each side of the ball than the total number of returning regulars at Haysi (6), Honaker (7) or Twin Valley (6).
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