Wake Forest vs. Heritage Rivalry Football

For the first time in 13 years, the Heritage Huskies shocked everyone with a massive upset, beating the Wake Forest Cougars in the 2023 football season! This rivalry game is recognized in the Wake Forest Community as the biggest game in highschool football year after year and commonly referred to as “The Fight For The Forest”. 

Going into the matchup 2-5, the Huskies were looking at not even qualifying for playoffs. However, that did not stop them from breaking the history of always losing this rivalry match. The Wake Forest Cougars had found some success this season, attempting to protect their winning record of 6-1, but came up short. The huge win from Heritage gives the team a boost in hope and confidence as playoffs approach. 

Formerly named Wake Forest-Rolesville High School, Wake Forest High School has been open for far longer than the 13 year old Heritage High School, giving it the advantage in early years of competition between the two schools. Wake Forest High School was first founded in 1941, while Heritage opened its doors in 2010. Since the opening of the two high schools, both schools have grown significantly in the number of students enrolled. 

Historically, for the past 12 years, Wake Forest has always come up victorious from this rivalry matchup. The competitive nature of the two schools brings together current students, alumni, parents, and all football fans in the community to watch the intense four quarters between the cross-town opponents. 

Every year, the highly anticipated match has a strong turnout of fans. In 2019, the attendance count almost reached 10,000 fans for the matchup between No. 1 ranked Wake Forest and No. 3 ranked Heritage, both teams being undefeated as they kicked off. The attendance in Wake Forest’s Trentini Stadium compares to slightly more than the number of fans at a sold out Cameron Indoor Stadium to watch a Duke basketball game. 

The 4A division of high school sports is the most competitive in North Carolina. With teams ranging from the Appalachian mountains to the beaches in Wilmington, the 4A division represents the largest high schools in North Carolina with the largest player pool to select from in all sports.

From 2016 - 2018, the Wake Forest Cougars went on a remarkable tear with a record of 46-0, three perfect seasons, and three straight state titles in the 4A division. Heritage would always string together strong football rosters, but none could get the job done of taking down Wake Forest’s three straight perfect seasons. 

Many residents in Wake Forest that have no affiliation with either school will still find themselves going to support the two programs. The small town community aspect makes the name, “Fight for the Forest” come to life as two cross town rivals battle it out on the football field. 

The two schools love to be competitive on the field, but both schools have come together on multiple occasions to raise money for important causes in the community. Every year, Wake Forest and Heritage will do a pinkout game to raise money in support of breast cancer awareness in the month of October. This game may not be when they face head to head, but this year along with past years, funds have been raised to be donated to the Pretty in Pink Foundation. 

In addition to supporting breast cancer awareness, the two schools worked together to coordinate an orange-out basketball game between the two rivals. The purpose of the orange-out game was to raise money to support a boy in the Wake Forest community who was undergoing treatment for his leukemia. The campaign was titled, “Two Teams, One Goal”. Shirts were created for both schools to sell, with all profits being donated to support his cause. 

Many people only get a chance to see the intense battles under the lights on Friday night, but these two schools stand for more than just the game and winning. The rivalry between the two schools may appear to separate the two sides of the town on gameday, but behind the scenes, the competitive environment unites the community and brings everyone together.

https://www.highschoolot.com/story/heritage-stuns-wake-forest-with-first-win-over-cougars-in-school-history/21096617/