Freedom and East Burke high schools will meet on the football field Friday for the 51st installment of the annual Fat Friday game.
Freedom won a competitive contest 12-7 last year after East Burke took bragging right in 2023 with a 29-13 win.
The Fat Friday contest got its name from the canned food drives organized every year in conjunction with the game by the late Rev. A. Flemon McIntosh. McIntosh also served as Freedom's first assistant principal and was the PA announcer in the press box that now bears his name.
A Freedom player powers through a tackle at the Burke County Jamboree on Aug. 15.
Erin Johnston, Record
This year’s contest will take place at East Burke High School. The two teams have met every year since 1974, with the exception of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Freedom comes into the game off a 68-0 demolition of Draughn on Friday. The Patriots are led by quarterback Kaden Davis. He threw for four touchdowns in the season opener against Patton with 9-of-11 passing. He is also effective on the ground, going for a team best 113 yards and another touchdown in the opener. Last week against Draughn, he tossed three more touchdown passes.
Freedom head coach J.K. Adkins played in the Fat Friday games when he was a student at Freedom in the 1990s. He said the game doesn’t quite carry the excitement it used to when he was a player, but it will never be just a regular non-conference game.
“It used to be the last game of the year, Fat Friday was a big deal,” Adkins said. “They’re still East Burke to me, and to a lot of people in our program, it’s still one you circle on your calendar. … There are enough aunts and uncles and moms and dads who were a part of that rivalry to where our kids understand that it means a little something.
East Burke running back Zayne Newman finds a hole at the Burke County Jamboree on Aug. 15.
Erin Johnston, Record
East Burke has opened the season at 0-2 after a 26-0 loss to West Iredell in the opener and a 26-18 loss to Fred T. Foard last week. Running back Ossie Burkeen has been a bright spot for the Cavaliers so far. In the season opener, he picked up 77 yards on 20 carries and logged six tackles, including a tackle for loss on defense. Last week, against Foard he had 86 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. Kendale Cook leads the team in total tackles this season with 20 in two games. He also blocked a field goal attempt.
Freedom and East Burke will face off in Connelly Springs on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Jason Koon is the Sports Editor for the Hickory Record and can be reached at jason.koon@lee.net.
