Daily Leader / Sherylyn Evans / Brookhaven Academy head coach Josh Watts will lead his Cougars against Columbia Saturday.

Followers of Brookhaven Academy basketball have been anticipating a matchup of current head basketball coach Josh Watts and current Columbia Academy head basketball coach Dale Watts, since Josh started pacing the same coach’s box his father wore out in John R. Gray Gymnasium.

Daily Leader / File Photo / In 1995, Coach Dale Watts (left) coached his son, Josh Watts, at Brookhaven Academy.

The elder Watts won several district, state and overall championships while leading BA in the 1990s and 2000s, and his son possesses the same fiery coaching style that resonates with parents and players alike. Both have a firm grasp of the Xs and Os of the game accompanied by a voice that could carry over a pasture.

Coach Josh Watts will lead his BA Cougars (8-8, 0-1) against his dad’s Columbia Cougars (10-2, 0-1) in a friendly rivalry Saturday. Action begins at 2 p.m. with seventh grade game action, followed by junior high and varsity action.

The Brookhaven Nation and Columbia fans will be decked out in blue and orange T-shirts made special for the game with the Watts War tagline of “Cougar Orange or Cougar Blue, which Cougar are you?” It is only right that the fans would feed off of the competitiveness of their coaches for this exciting matchup.

The Columbia Cougars will travel to Brookhaven later this season on Saturday, Jan. 23.