Two football teams. One opossum head.

The prized possession played for by Greenwood and Warren East has been kept by Jeff Griffith the last two seasons, but this year, the goal is less focused on the marsupial for the fourth-year Raiders’ coach and more about getting his team on track after back-to-back losses.

“Obviously it’s kind of a neat thing, the opossum. We’ve had it for a couple of years, but the main thing for us is to get back to playing some good football and get back in the win column,” Griffith said. “We’re in desperate need of a win going into our first district game next week against Russell County.”

After a 48-0 victory over Russellville in the Kenway Concrete Bowl to open the season, the Raiders have fallen to defending Class 5A champion South Warren 50-6 and Logan County 35-17. Warren East has struggled in the second quarter of those two losses, giving up a combined 61 points.

“We gave up 41 two weeks ago in the second quarter and we gave up 20 points last week in the second quarter,” Griffith said. “Hopefully we can get through the second quarter without having a meltdown and have four good quarters Friday night.”

With a victory Friday – in addition to momentum heading into district play – the Raiders would retain possession of the stuffed opossum head that’s kept by the winner of the matchup dubbed the “Possum Bowl.”

The critter came about when Griffith, former Warren East coach Justin Chaffin and former Greenwood coach Chris Seabolt were assistants at Bowling Green. The opossum was meant to “exorcise the demons” after a playoff loss and was later gifted to Seabolt when he took the head coaching position at Greenwood. Chaffin took over as head coach at Warren East in 2015, which is when the opossum head became the game’s trophy.

In 2015 and 2016, Greenwood kept the opossum head on Scottsville Road, but Warren East has won the past two meetings. To keep it for a third straight year, the Raiders will need to beat the No. 10 team in the Class 5A AP poll.

“I think when you have a traveling trophy like that, certainly there is a lot of motivation for it,” Griffith said. “It’s not like it’s something we sit around and talk about, but it’s obviously something we want to play for and we want to keep it and hopefully we can come out on top Friday night.”

Greenwood is off to a 3-0 start with wins over Franklin-Simpson, Warren Central and Allen County-Scottsville. The Gators are averaging more than 36 points per game and more than 260 rushing yards per game. David Odom and Reed Slone have led the attack with similar numbers. Odom has 311 yards and four touchdowns on 42 carries and Slone has 310 yards and four touchdowns on 38 carries. Warren East’s defense has allowed an average of 117 rushing yards per game through three games.

Quarterback John Morrison has completed 16 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns, with Slone being the main recipient.

“Offensively, obviously they have a really good running attack with David Odom and Reed Slone, and they have an ability to throw the ball with their quarterback and a physical offensive line,” Griffith said.

Warren East’s offense has been balanced, with 403 yards coming on the ground and 395 through the air. Junior quarterback Nolan Ford is the leader of the group. He’s completed 26 passes for 395 yards and four touchdowns, with 12 receptions, 162 yards and two touchdowns going to DeSean Gilbert. Ford’s also rushed for 152 yards and three touchdowns on 28 attempts. K.J. Alexander has added 149 yards and two touchdowns on 38 carries.

“I think the thing that we’re going to have some problems with is their size,” Griffith said. “They have really good size on both the offensive and defensive lines and I think if we can’t execute against them, it’s going to be a long night for us.”

The Gators lead the series 7-6 since 1998 and will look to get head coach William Howard possession of the opossum for the first time since taking over in 2017. Friday’s game is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. at Gator Stadium.{&end}