Commentary: The Battle of the Ravine needs to be chronicled in a big way

By DAVID HUMPHREY | Special to arkadelphian.com

Simply put, the Battle of the Ravine deserves a feature film documentary.

That’s Henderson State University vs. Ouachita Baptist University in any man’s language.

The 2026 football season begins in September for both schools. OBU hosts East Central on Sept. 3. HSU plays at Southern Nazarene University on the same day. The 99th Battle of the Ravine is Nov. 14 at HSU’s Carpenter-Haygood Stadium in Arkadelphia. 

The Battle of the Ravine is the final regular-season game and each one has its own identity. However, as a whole, they need to be preserved.

The rivalry, which began in 1895, has survived wartime, floods, Covid-19, pauses in play, hijinks, integration, school name changes, schedule alterations (used to be on Thanksgiving Day), and other physical and societal changes.

There have been short media video stories and school projects on the game in the past, but no feature film documentary (defined as 40 or more minutes).

Sports documentaries are very popular these days on ESPN, Netflix, HBO, Disney, Hulu, Prime and other outlets. There’s an audience and a market for a documentary on this rivalry. Football films are big business and ultra-attractive.

ESPN College GameDay considered doing their national pregame show in Arkadelphia last season. Just the consideration alone sparked Google searches and Podcast segments on the game along with talk show, chat room and Reddit forum conversations across the country.

I’m confident the City of Arkadelphia and its businesses, which wholeheartedly embrace the game and both schools, would welcome any and all filmmakers and their crews.

Sources are easy to find.

HSU chancellor Dr. Trey Berry basically grew up on the campus and his family has a deep history with the Reddies.

OBU graduate Rex Nelson is a renowned, multi-skilled journalist and historian. Nelson, an Arkansas Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Famer, is a longtime ambassador for small-college football, radio voice of the Tigers and a current columnist with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Retired coach and author George Baker has insider football knowledge on both schools because he was a coordinator at both schools.

For star power, give NFL greats Roy Green and Cliff Harris a phone call (or text message).

Then there’s centenarian Charlie “Mr. Reddie” Payne. If available, he surely has some stories to tell and maybe some memorabilia.

Speaking of 100, the historic 100th game is in 2027 at OBU. Hopefully, the game will have special helmet decals, jersey patches, expanded souvenir programs, shirts, hats, mini footballs and the works to signify the milestone.

In the meantime, this rivalry needs to be chronicled in a big way because it has the history, characters, storylines, interest and emotions worthy of a feature film documentary.

David Humphrey is a 1982 graduate of Henderson State University and a retired trailblazing sports editor. The former three-time (1979, ‘80 and ‘81) All-AIC honoree played in four Battle of the Ravine games, including a two-touchdown performance in the 1980 meeting. Humphrey’s 36-year journalism career includes the Austin (Texas) American-Statesman, Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram, Malvern (Ark.) Daily Record and The Orange (Texas) Leader.