09/18/2026
Green Oaks. Booker T. Washington.
Giants. Lions.
For more than half a century, those names have represented something bigger than four quarters of football in .
This Saturday, September 19, another chapter will be written when the Green Oaks Giants and Booker T. Washington Lions meet in the 53rd annual Soul Bowl at Leonard C. Barnes Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 5 p.m.
And this year brings a little extra juice.
Green Oaks is 2-0.
Booker T. Washington is 2-0.
Two undefeated teams.
More than five decades of history.
One trophy.
And a year’s worth of bragging rights on the line.
But if you’re from Shreveport, you already understand:
The Soul Bowl is bigger than football.
It’s school pride.
It’s alumni.
It’s family.
It’s bands.
It’s tailgating.
It’s community.
It’s Shreveport.
🏈 WHERE IT ALL STARTED
Green Oaks and Booker T. Washington began playing each other in 1973, although the teams did not meet in 1975 or 1976.
And here’s something even longtime Soul Bowl fans may not know:
It wasn’t originally called the Soul Bowl.
Historical reporting found that a 1979 Shreveport Sun article referred to the matchup as the “Black Super Bowl.”
The first known local newspaper reference to the game as the “Soul Bowl” came in 1980.
There was no elaborate marketing campaign.
No contest to name the game.
The name simply grew out of the community.
And it stuck.
Today, you can say two words almost anywhere around Shreveport —
SOUL BOWL.
People know exactly what you’re talking about.
🏆 THE BATTLE FOR THE SOUL BOWL
Entering the 2023 Soul Bowl, Booker T. Washington held a 27-22 advantage in the documented all-time series.
BTW captured the 2023 matchup 12-6 and won again in 2024, 26-14.
Then Green Oaks answered — loudly.
The Giants defeated BTW 38-16 in 2025.
Based on that published series record and the results since, the documented battle entering Saturday stands at:
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON — 29 WINS
GREEN OAKS — 23 WINS
Green Oaks comes in holding the most recent Soul Bowl victory.
BTW wants it back.
🔥 2-0 VS. 2-0
Booker T. Washington opened 2026 by overwhelming Arcadia 54-0.
Then the Lions went on the road and knocked off Benton 30-16.
Green Oaks has been just as impressive.
The Giants have outscored their first two opponents by a combined 88-12.
Now comes the matchup everybody circles.
2-0 Green Oaks.
2-0 BTW.
Somebody’s “0” has to go.
🍖🎶 BUT THE SOUL BOWL STARTS BEFORE KICKOFF
Tell somebody who has never experienced the Soul Bowl that kickoff is at 5 p.m.
People who know the Soul Bowl understand something:
You better get there a whole lot earlier than 5.
Long before the opening kickoff, the grills are going.
Smoke is rising from the barbecue pits.
Music is playing.
Parking lots are filling.
Alumni are reconnecting.
Green Oaks green and gold fills the crowd.
BTW maroon and white is everywhere.
And the party has already started.
Past Soul Bowls have drawn hundreds of tailgaters before kickoff, with fans gathering throughout the BTW campus and surrounding area.
One account of the 2023 Soul Bowl described almost as many people outside the stadium gates as inside.
You don’t simply show up and watch the Soul Bowl.
You experience it.
🎺 AND DON’T FORGET THE BANDS
There are really TWO shows on Soul Bowl Saturday.
There’s the one between the hash marks.
And then…
There’s halftime.
The bands have become an essential part of the experience, bringing their own performances, school pride and energy to an already electric atmosphere.
Former BTW coach James Mosley once described the Soul Bowl as the:
“Baby Bayou Classic.”
And it’s easy to understand why.
Tailgating.
Talent shows.
Pageants.
Battle of the Bands.
Alumni gatherings.
A week of activities.
And then the football game itself.
The Soul Bowl isn’t just a game on the schedule.
It’s an event.
🤝🏾 TWO COMMUNITIES — ONE CITY
The competition is fierce, but the connections between these communities run deeper than the final score.
Former BTW coach Tony Reliford once explained that while the two sides are opponents on the field, the communities also come together in fellowship.
For a few hours Saturday, it’s Giants against Lions.
Afterward, everybody goes back to being part of the same city.
⭐ SOME SERIOUS FOOTBALL HISTORY HAS COME THROUGH THESE SCHOOLS
Plenty of talented young men have put on a Green Oaks or Booker T. Washington uniform over the years.
Some went on to much bigger football stages.
Green Oaks’ football lineage includes one of Shreveport’s most accomplished modern players:
Tre’Davious White.
Before LSU.
Before becoming a first-round NFL Draft pick.
Before becoming an All-Pro and Pro Bowler.
Before tying for the NFL lead in interceptions in 2019…
White wore Green Oaks across his chest.
Green Oaks’ football history also includes longtime NFL defensive end Ezra Johnson and former Missouri standout L’Damian Washington, along with many others who continued playing beyond high school.
Booker T. Washington’s football history stretches even further back than the Soul Bowl itself, with the program producing professional players across multiple generations.
Not every great player from either school’s history played during the Soul Bowl era.
But for more than five decades, this game has provided a stage for Shreveport athletes to represent their schools in front of a crowd that understands exactly what the moment means.
🏈 GAMES THAT DON’T GET FORGOTTEN
Ask former players about their Soul Bowl and watch what happens.
The stories start coming.
The big plays.
The crowd.
The bands.
The final score.
And, of course, what happened afterward.
Because there’s no rematch next Friday.
Win or lose, you live with the result for an entire year.
That’s why former players still gather decades later and talk about their Soul Bowl.
Some games end when the clock hits zero.
This one tends to stick with you.
🏈 53 YEARS LATER…
Shreveport has changed considerably since Green Oaks and Booker T. Washington first met in 1973.
Coaches changed.
Uniforms changed.
Neighborhoods changed.
Students grew up and brought their own children — and eventually grandchildren — back to experience it.
But this game remained.
And Saturday, another group of Giants and Lions gets its turn.
Another tailgate fires up.
Another halftime show takes the field.
Another final score gets added to the history books.
And another set of memories gets made.
53 years.
Two schools.
One city.
And when Green Oaks meets Booker T. Washington…
SHREVEPORT STOPS AND WATCHES.
🔥🏈 THE SOUL BOWL IS BACK. 🏈🔥
📍 Leonard C. Barnes Stadium
📅 Saturday, September 19
⏰ 5:00 PM
🏈 Green Oaks (2-0) vs. Booker T. Washington (2-0)
👇🏾 SHREVEPORT — WHO ARE YOU RIDING WITH?
🏈 GREEN OAKS GIANTS
🦁 BOOKER T. WASHINGTON LIONS
