ER STORY
COVER STORY
COVER STORY
COVER STOR
THE QUARTERBACKS
OF HIGHWAY NINE
Dupree and Hayes Lead Rivals Cherokee County
and Piedmont into Highway Nine and Border Battles
A
labama State Highway 9 is a mostly
two lane strip of asphalt that runs
from the Georgia border a few
miles east of Cedar Bluff to just below
the Julia Tutwiler Women’s Penitentiary
in Wetumpka. In terms of high school
football, the roadway runs right through
some of the most rabid towns for pigskin
passion in this state. Cedar Bluff, Heflin,
Lineville, and Ashland are all connected
by this rural highway and each are
steeped in unrivaled football tradition.
With the consolidation of Lineville and
Clay County High Schools into Central
High School of Clay County (ending
the famed Clay Bowl series), one rivalry
has stepped to the forefront of all of
the schools dotted along Highway 9. In
fact, the yearly showdown between the
32 | 2016 Pigskin Roundup the Magazine
Cherokee County High School Warriors
and the Piedmont High School Bulldogs
has become known as “The Battle of
Highway Nine”.
“Number Nine,” as many locals refer to
the highway, leaves the Centre City Limits
heading south through the flatlands of
the Weiss Lake and Coosa River Basins,
crosses Terrapin Creek, stretches out
through the Goshen Valley, and arrives
at the base of Dugger Mountain in
Piedmont. The total mileage is right at
15 and most folks in both communities
know just about every house and
landmark along the twenty minute drive
like the back of their hands. Lately the
tradition has become that the two schools
open the season with each other. So the
last Friday night in August each year
finds one of the towns virtually emptying
out and making that familiar drive up or
down “Number Nine” to renew a meeting
that dates back to 1925. The word familiar
could be used in just about every sentence
used in describing this feud. The phrase
“familiarity breeds contempt” would also
aptly describe this series. Everyone knows
everyone in this event. There are friends,
foes, co-workers, and even relatives
involved both on the field and in the
stands every year.
Piedmont Head Coach Steve Smith knows
this game better than just about anyone.
He is a Cherokee County graduate and
former Warrior starting quarterback. He
has also led the Bulldogs to their greatest