I don’t know about you, but my method of finding a seat Saturday at the Adams Christian-Trinity Episcopal basketball game worked.

I waited until halftime of the boys’ junior varsity game.

If you waited until after the varsity games started, God bless your soul &045; or your lower back.

Saturday’s crowd at the Clyde Adams gym at Trinity was definitely standing room only and then some, particularly because the gym bears a strong resemblance to those tight little gyms built during the WPA era where patrons have to actually walk on the court to get to their seat.

That aspect, however, made the afternoon that much more interesting when the two teams squared off in a regularly scheduled matchup for the first time in five years. The crowd was right up on everybody in that tight little gym, while others were packed away on the stage or either standing in the corners or in the entrance hallway of the gym.

While both varsity games were not very close as indicated by the final score, each had their moments and provided plenty of excitement &045; which is nothing but good for prep athletics in the Miss-Lou.

&uot;It was a good crowd,&uot; ACCS interim head coach John Gray said. &uot;We really want to thank the Trinity and AC fans for supporting these people. It was a real good crowd, and I enjoyed it. You’ve got to give (Trinity) credit &045; they played with intensity.&uot;

The Saints never quit in their 40-19 loss to AC, and that made for an interesting contest along with the Saints’ strategy to stall the ball in the first half. For a game that didn’t garner too much excitement in comparison to the jamboree football back in August, the afternoon provided plenty of it.

&uot;Part of it was because Chase (Brown) is out, Dudley (Guice Jr.) isn’t playing and the Australian (Robert Manson) isn’t out for them yet,&uot; AC guard Glenn Williams said. &uot;It’s a little early. The second game should be a lot closer. It’s just a fun game. I’m friends with some of them.&uot;

While the excitement didn’t reach the level it did prior to the football game &045; football is king, and that was the first sport to have the rivalry renewed &045; it still did plenty of good for the two schools and prep sports.

With the number of public and private schools in this area that mostly do their own thing, it’s good to create a level of excitement that stirs interest in the community. Up until this year there was very little of that in regard to rivalries &045; if it wasn’t Vidalia vs.

Ferriday in something or Natchez vs. Jefferson County in basketball, no one really cared until you started talking playoffs.

There was a time when AC and Trinity played annually, as did North Natchez and South Natchez and even Vidalia and Cathedral. Granted, everybody’s got their stories about overzealous fans, but the matchups are healthy for local sports as long as everyone remains a good sport.

The reality of this rivalry is ACCS has a bigger enrollment than Trinity and had the edge at the start. The Rebels are becoming a very solid Class AAA team, and the Saints will have their share of success in Class A.

But get ready &045; both will be in Class AA the next two years.

Adam Daigle

is sports editor of The Natchez Democrat. You can reach him at (601) 445-3632 or by e-mail at

adam.daigle@natchezdemocrat.com.