TAMPA — The Middleton-Blake high school football rivalry has been a Tampa tradition for decades, but Adam Hill's introduction came with an unusual perspective. Middleton coach Fred Reid hired Hill to coach the Tigers' offense prior to last season, but before the first play was designed, another team called an audible.
It was Blake.
"I would have loved him on my staff because he is a great offensive mind," Reid said of Hill, who was tabbed to be the Tigers' offensive coordinator in 2015 but instead became Blake's head coach. "But he got a great opportunity at Blake and I'm happy for him. We're both part of a change in these two schools right now."
Indeed they are. Reid and Hill have been spearheading a resurgence of one of this city's most storied rivalries and will lead their teams Friday night, when Middleton hosts Blake at 7:30.
"I know what this game means to our boosters and alumni," said Hill, who starred at King High in the 1990s. "And they tell you that you've got one game to win this year."
The rivalry began with the then all-black schools during segregation and lasted until 1971. Both were turned into middle schools that year before Blake reopened as a high school in 1997 and Middleton in 2002.
Reid has been mindful to pass along stories of the rivalry.
"We're educating them about this rivalry and what it has meant," he said. "I'm still young so I'm still learning about this rivalry and what it was like back in the day. But it's something that we want to keep alive and pass on."
When the rivalry resumed 14 years ago, it still carried a lot of weight. The game was played for a few seasons at Chamberlain until the capacity crowds forced it to Raymond James Stadium. Nearly 12,000 showed up for the 2005 game at RJS, but the numbers have dwindled throughout the years.
"We need to get the word out there more and bring the rivalry back to where it used to be," Reid said.
Much of the waning interest can be attributed to the product on the field. Neither team has been very competitive during the past decade or so. But Hill and Reid are determined to change that.
"We were hoping to come into the game undefeated and (Middleton) has been playing great," Hill said. "Things are changing."
Reid took over Middleton in 2015. The Tigers were coming off a winless season and won twice in Reid's first year. They enter Friday's game 4-0 after a defensive victory over Robinson with an unusual 4-0 score. "We're taking steps in the right direction," Reid said.
Hill has seen his share of success as well. The Yellow Jackets won four games in his first season — including a 21-3 victory against Middleton — and are currently 2-1. A sloppy 21-13 loss last week to Brandon is the only thing preventing a matchup of undefeated teams.
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Explore all your options"We gave it away," Hill said. "That's the hardest thing — knowing you should have had it and giving it away."
The coaches agree that the rivalry may have rekindled its spark with both teams playing winning football again. They spoke this week of the student's excitement level, the pep rallies and the pageantry. And don't forget about the second-most heated rivalry: the halftime battle of the bands.
"I guess there was an agreement between the bands that neither would do their show performance last year," Hill said. "Then Middleton came out first and did their show performance on our home field and kind of shoved it in our band's face. So expect a little something extra from our band this year."