When the White Hall Bulldogs pay the Little Rock Parkview Patriots a visit tonight, it'll be the eighth time brothers Bobby and Brad Bolding square off as high school football coaches.
"What about it?" White Hall's Bobby Bolding said. "I've been going up against him since I was 3 and he was born. That's the truth."
On the field, Brad Bolding owns a 4-3 advantage over his older brother in a series that goes back to Brad's days leading the North Little Rock Charging Wildcats against Bobby's Pine Bluff Zebras.
The younger Bolding's Patriots broke the deadlock in resounding fashion last year, winning 41-13 after they were tied with the Bulldogs 13-13 at halftime. While Bobby Bolding didn't make much of a deal about the sibling rivalry, he did reflect on miscues from last September's game he wants the Bulldogs (2-0) to avoid.
"We can't let them run a kickoff back. We can't let them have a 50-yard quarterback sneak for a touchdown. We can't let them scoop and score a fumble for a touchdown," Bobby Bolding said. "That was three of their scores last year. We can't let them do that."
The way White Hall's defense has been performing, missed assignments might be reduced to a minimum this time around. The Bulldogs have yet to allow a point in 2021, having shut out Sheridan 41-0 in Week 0 and Warren 35-0 last Friday.
The Bulldogs, though, could have their hands full trying to contain quarterback Jaylon White, who received an offer from the University of Arkansas, and running back James Jointer, who has committed to the Razorbacks.
"It's going to boil down to tackling," Bobby Bolding said. "This is not a real complicated game. If we don't tackle, we're going to lose. If we tackle, we're going to have a chance. It's real simple. Basic football."
White Hall's skill players -- including quarterback Matthew Martinez, running backs Zaire Green and Durran Cain and receiver Jordan Jackson -- have clicked through two games.
"They're all seniors, so that's expected," Bobby Bolding said. "We've struggled on the offensive line. We're still learning. It's usually the last position on the field that comes together, so they need to hurry up and come together and get it all ironed out. We're doing a little shuffling there, so we'll see if that helps. Offensively, we can't turn the ball over on them like we did last year."
Another dimension to the latest installment of Bolding vs. Bolding is the setting -- War Memorial Stadium. It's the Patriots' home field and a place with which Bobby is very familiar, having won state titles there while coaching Stuttgart (2002) and Pine Bluff (2014-15).
That doesn't entirely add hype to the game, in Bobby's view.
"It's 120 yards long and 53 yards wide. It's the same as our field," he said. "I don't know how the kids will feel about it. If they go in locked in, I think that's irrelevant if they're locked in mentally. I suspect they will be [excited], of course with all the seniors."
A win will give White Hall its first 3-0 start since 2017, when it went 4-0.