Parkview-Brookwood rivalry will always be ‘dog eat dog.’ Just ask Cecil Flowe.

Though it’s been nearly a quarter century since the rivalry fire burned its brightest, Parkview vs. Brookwood will always carry weight.

The Panthers and Broncos, who face off Friday for the 44th time in history, share one of the most storied rivalries in Georgia. The programs rose to powerhouse status within a few years of each other. They were the first two state champions from Gwinnett County, and their games drew statewide attention despite being separated by less than 6 miles.

The cross-town rivalry hit a climax in the most fitting of ways: the 2002 Class 5A state championship.

It was a pivotal moment for the rivalry, as Parkview had won its last four games against Brookwood on the way to three consecutive region titles and back-to-back state championships in 2000 and 2001. A win in the 2002 championship would mark five straight wins against Brookwood, tying the longest win streak in the rivalry’s history held by Brookwood.

“At 4:30 in the afternoon, there was 10,000 people waiting to get in the stadium,” former Parkview coach Cecil Flowe said. “They’re tailgating, and you know, it was just like a college game.”

The teams’ offensive schemes also added to the intensity. The Panthers and Broncos both boasted physical offenses, using multiple tight ends and running backs to establish dominance.

“I mean, they were doing exactly the same thing, and so it was just a battle of the trenches,” Flowe said. “And my guys just dug in and said, ‘Hey, we’re not going to get beat.’”

Coaching was especially paramount between Brookwood and Parkview because of the teams’ familiarity with each other. The Panthers and Broncos were playing for the 11th time in the last nine seasons.

“Both of us knew exactly what the other team had,” Flowe said. “What you don’t know is when they were going to call it, so you break the trend and you don’t do it on the script.”

Parkview beat Brookwood with a mixture of predictable physicality and well-timed surprises. The Panthers took a 14-0 lead on lengthy touchdown drives of 79 and 72 yards. They put the game away with a pair of explosive passes.

Parkview misdirected Brookwood on a 40-yard screen pass touchdown to Joe Sturdivant for a 21-0 lead in the third quarter.

“It was a play we run all the time in practice, and we ran it a couple times earlier,” Sturdivant told the AJC that night. “My linemen were out there in front of me, and it was like parting the Red Sea.”

The Broncos immediately responded by returning the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown, but the Panthers weren’t fazed.

Parkview caught Brookwood’s defense sleeping again. Facing a third-and-4 in the fourth quarter, the Panthers appeared to line up for a run play with no wide receivers on the field.

Parkview quarterback Dustin Wade faked a run, turned around and tossed a 30-yard strike to tight end Matt Knight, setting up a short rushing touchdown on the next play.

The Panthers made history beyond the state title that night — it was their 45th consecutive win, a GHSA record at the time.

“I asked coach when there was one minute to go in the game how many diamonds we were going to get in our ring this year, 45?” Parkview running back Brad Lester told the AJC that night.

Beating Brookwood for a state title — or just in general — is one of Flowe’s favorite memories as a coach. But he also recognizes Brookwood as one of the main reasons Parkview became a championship program.

“We needed each other,” Flowe said. “It would have been a whole lot different (without each other).”

Brookwood was a trailblazer in Gwinnett County. Before the Broncos won Gwinnett’s first state title in 1996, they made the state championship for the first time in 1988.

Legendary Brookwood coach Dave Hunter sparked a program that would win five region championships and a state title over the next 10 years. The Broncos were also 8-2 against Parkview all-time until the Panthers made a change in 1992.

Flowe was coaching at Parkview under Chuck Mize when the Panthers decided not to play Brookwood for two years. Flowe said it gave them a chance to build the program, chasing the standard that Brookwood set.

The time away appeared to work when the teams met again in 1994. Brookwood escaped with a 10-7 win.