After the first 1998 Classic City Championship about a month ago, a man came up to Cedar Shoals coach Scott Wilkins in the wake of the Jaguars' 23-9 loss to Clarke Central and mentioned that the Cedar coach was always "a gracious loser." Not "gracious in defeat" - "a gracious loser."

The coach, never one to say a lot, bit his lip and ignored the statement, nodding his head and waiting for the guy to move on. But you could tell it got to him.

Wilkins is a wonderful guy with a very talented team and some outstanding assistants. He's also proven to be a pretty darn good coach himself. But going through year after year without a win over his cross-town rival had obviously taken a toll.

That explained the fist-pumping and the tears that flowed from Wilkins' eyes for a long, long time after his Jaguars' 19-14 upset of the Gladiators Friday night at Billy Henderson Stadium. It was the night Wilkins had waited for, and all of the emotion came bubbling to the surface as his assistants mobbed him on the sideline after Cedar quarterback Tommy Wilson ran the clock out.

After escaping the bear hugs of his overjoyed coaches, Wilkins appeared lost. He wandered, in a daze, toward the middle of the field, his hands repeatedly wiping tears away. He got another hug, this one a brief embrace with his wife, Janet, and more tears came.

"It's been a long time coming," was all he could say for a while.

Five years, five games, five losses.

Friday night was Cedar's first win over Central since 1993. And nobody could remember the last time the Jaguars came away victorious in "Death Valley" where Henderson's teams repeatedly pummeled their Eastside rivals.

"Somebody told me it was 1978," Wilkins said.

But all of that nasty history was erased thanks to a Cedar defense that clamped down on Central's outside running attack all night, setting up one touchdown with a blocked punt and scoring another on an interception return.

Afterward, Wilkins praised his defense and his quarterback and, especially, his seniors, just like a good head coach is supposed to do.

Take the blame after a loss, distribute the credit after a victory.

But, after some prodding, he allowed a bit of insight into what the victory meant to him - before reverting back to his natural football coach priorities.

"Until tonight, I was the only football coach in the history of Cedar Shoals not to have beaten Clarke Central," he said, cradling a game ball that one of his assistants had stuffed into his hands after the game. "So obviously, it means a lot to me.

"But the most important thing is what it means to our seniors, and what it means to our program. That's what I'm all about - I do this because I love to be around kids and I love to see them have the chance to do well and work hard to make things happen, and, by golly, they sure did tonight.

"I just couldn't be more proud of the way that we just hung and hung and hung in the game and just wouldn't quit. There's just no quit in 'em."

Or in their coach.

He admitted that the losing streak had "contributed a couple of gray hairs" to a head that is now almost completely silver. But all of those gray hairs, borne of the annual frustration felt by Wilkins and the entire Cedar Shoals community for so long, didn't matter last night.

Finally, Jaguars citywide had reason to celebrate - Cedar Shoals holds bragging rights in the Classic City.

"Right now, words don't describe it," said Wilkins. "I'm just so tickled for our seniors, the kids on the football team, the coaches, the moms and dads, and the whole east side of Athens.

"Everybody's been so supportive ... I'm a lucky man."

And a gracious winner.