On Friday night, Tahlequah and Fort Gibson will play for just the fourth time, but it’s been a while since they crossed paths.

The two sets of Tigers last played 84 years ago during the Calvin Coolidge presidency with Tahlequah scoring a 40-0 shutout to take a 2-1 advantage into tonight’s contest at FGHS. It was a series that extended from 1924-26 and consisted of three shutouts.

Fort Gibson hopes a few things have changed since Mr. Coolidge was in office.

 The two modern versions of these teams are different in almost every way whether one is talking about style of play or coaching experience. Second-year Fort Gibson head coach D.J. Howell uses a spread attack that relies on speed and timing while Tahlequah’s 40-year veteran head coach Charlie Cooper uses a more traditional attack, relying more on power.

When asked about the keys to winning, both coaches had understandably different ways of wanting basically the same thing.

“The key to any game is turnovers and penalties,” Cooper said. “With the first game of the season, it’s hard to gage because you don’t know how your players are going to react.”

Cooper went on to say how emotional first games were and that while he wanted his players to be excited, he did not want that excitement to lead to a major mistake during the game.

Coach Howell also wanted his team’s excitement to be tempered by discipline.

“We’ve got to bring a lot of energy and effort to the game,” Howell said. “But we’ve got to line up correctly and be mentally prepared for all the things Tahlequah can do.”

Coach Cooper felt that field position would be crucial in deciding the outcome Friday night.

 ”Basically what we’ve got to do is try to control field position and prevent the big play,” Cooper said, “because the big play can be a really big problem in the beginning of the year.”

The big play capability centers around FGHS senior quarterback Andrew Arnold.

“We have to keep turnovers to a minimum and not give them anything,” Arnold said. “If everybody does their job, it’ll go our way, I think.”

Coach Howell agreed with his quarterback and especially stressed the importance of his offensive line.

“Offensively, we’ve got to block their front,” Howell said. “They like their inside linebackers and it will be a big test for our offensive line right off the bat.

Arnold also discussed their defense, mentioning specific formations and players that he has been told to watch out for. One of those is Tahlequah junior cornerback Tanner Weston.

“We’ve been working hard on our coverages and getting to receivers quickly,” Weston said. “We think they have a pretty good passing game.”

Weston went on to mention how his team wanted to play tough, smashmouth football and run over people both on defense and offense. Tahlequah lineman Kyle Hutchinson will be instrumental in that on the offensive side of the ball.

“We’ve been going over things (they do) play by play by play,” the senior said. “We’ve been really focusing on their defense.”

When asked about a particular focus, Hutchinson’s answer was automatic.

“Their linebackers,” the senior said. “They like to get up right by the defensive line and you never which hole they’re going to be in which is something we really need to be ready for.”

One of the guys Hutchinson will be watching out for is FGHS senior linebacker Gannon Whiteley.

“This is a big game for us being our first game and at home,” Whiteley said. “We have to play sound defense and keep to our responsibilities.”

Echoed Howell: “We’ve got to be strong enough on defense to stop their running game and make them throw the football.”

The game marks the return to Tahlequah  for Cooper, who was 93-56 there from 1980-92 before leaving for Rogers, Ark.

“I really enjoy playing for him (Cooper),” Weston said. “He has a lot of history with Tahlequah and he knows the program probably better than anybody.”

But not quite the history that once made this matchup.

Tahlequah at Fort Gibson

Radio: KEOK 102.1 FM

Last meeting: Tahlequah 40, Fort Gibson 0 (1926)

Series record: Tahlequah leads, 2-1.

Notes: Fort Gibson won in 1925, 13-0....Fort Gibson has not won a season opener at home since 2004.

Yates Auto Mall of Tahlequah is sponsoring a “Pass for Cash” Athletic Director Competition between the athletic directors to be held at halftime. Each contestant will test his skill by attempting to throw a football into the bed of a new truck, without it bouncing out from different distances.

All cash prizes will by donated by Yates Auto Mall to the athletic departments..