The Morningside/Briar Cliff rivalry has been best known for the sport of basketball over the years and the schools take that rivalry to the gridiron this weekend. In its first season of varsity football Briar Cliff is 0-3, but coach Dick Strittmatter says a team of mostly freshmen and sophomores continues to make strides. He says they knew it would be an uphill battle, but he says they’re working hard to get better.Strittmatter says as with any young team, the Chargers have trouble battling adversity. He cites the game against Midland where they played even, and then had trouble when Midland scored.Strittmatter says the football rivalry will grow to match the other sports.Morningside is 1-3 but the Mustangs could easily be 3-1 had they cut down on turnovers. Morningside coach Steve Ryan says they’ve done everything well except avoid turnovers. Ryan found out quickly what this rivalry means as he says all spring and summer people have been talking to him about the game. Ryan says both teams have played with a lot of emotion this season but youthful mistakes have tripped them up. He says they still have to go into the game and play with lots of energy. It is Morningside’s homecoming.
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