Why the Tuscaloosa County and Hillcrest football rivalry died and how it will return in 2024

Despite a 26-year history and being located just 15 miles apart, the Hillcrest and Tuscaloosa County football teams have not met since 2021.

That is set to change this year, though, after the AHSAA unveiled its new reclassification for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years in December,

With Hillcrest making the jump from Class 6A to Class 7A, it will join Region 3 with Hewitt-Trussville, Hoover, Oak Mountain, Prattville, Thompson, Vestavia Hills – and cross-town rival Tuscaloosa County. It marks the first time since 2013 that the teams will be compete in the same region.

Before that, the teams played every year from 1996-2021. Tuscaloosa County leads the series 15-11, but Hillcrest has won the last eight matchups, since 2014. After the 2021 game, the teams faced scheduling conflicts, ultimately deciding not to play the game.

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"We're excited to renew this crosstown rivalry," Tuscaloosa County athletic director Dominic Ingram told The Tuscaloosa News. "Our kids are excited, the communities are excited, especially given the fact that this is a region game, so there is going to be even more on the line ... I think it's going to be great to have this rivalry back."

The Patriots and Wildcats both competed in Class 6A, Region 5 from 2000-13. During that time, Tuscaloosa County won six region championships (2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008) while Hillcrest won three (2003, 2010, 2011). Before that, both teams competed in Class 6A, Region 8 for the 1998 and 1999 seasons, with the Wildcats bringing home the 1999 region championship.

The teams first met in 1996, and Tuscaloosa County dominated in the early years of the rivalry.

The Wildcats won the first seven matchups before Hillcrest got its first win of the rivalry in 2003. It was its only win until 2010, as the Wildcats went on a six-game winning streak from 2004-09. Since 2010, though, the Patriots have won the last 10 of the last 12 meetings, including a current eight-game winning streak. The last time Tuscaloosa County defeated Hillcrest was in 2013.

Along with their playing history, the teams share some coaching crossover. Adam Winegarden, who was Tuscaloosa County's most recent coach, also coached at Hillcrest from 2010-11. Various assistant coaches over the years also have gone from Hillcrest to Tuscaloosa County, further solidifying the rivalry.

"The rivalry is good for the sport," Hillcrest athletic director Brad Armstrong said. "It's good for fan involvement, it's good for student engagement, it's good for the communities."

Hillcrest is coming off back-to-back Class 6A, Region 4 championships, along with a quarterfinal playoff appearance in 2023, as it enters its first season competing in Class 7A. It will be coach Jamie Mitchell's second time facing Tuscaloosa County; the teams faced off during Mitchell's first season at Hillcrest in 2021, which the Patriots won 35-10.

"It's a game that is just what high school football is about," Mitchell said. "You have two schools that just love the competition, love the rivalry. I've been a bunch of rivalries for many, many years. It's hard to say if this is the best one or second best one, but it's definitely up there. There's a lot on both sides that people care about."

The Wildcats are preparing for their first season with coach Miles Holcomb, who arrives from Southside-Gadsden. Despite being new to the area, he has connections with the Hillcrest coaching staff, specifically with safeties coach Simeon Palmore, whom he coached in 2018 at Hoover when he was an assistant coach for the Buccaneers.

Hillcrest will travel to Wildcat Stadium on Oct. 4, opening the second half of region play for both teams.

"It's been a while since the game has been played," Holcomb said, "and now with it being a region game, it makes it a big game in general."

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Why the Tuscaloosa County and Hillcrest football rivalry died and how it will return in 2024