Nick Perlin
Social Media Director
September 15, 2016
Social Media Director
September 15, 2016
Cowboys vs Redskins. Ravens vs Steelers. Atholton vs Reservoir. One of the biggest games and rivalries in the county is finally here. Of course, every Friday night football game, students paint their faces, stand on the bleachers, scream and chant for two hours and lose their voices. Students can finally release their wild side as they root their high schools on to victory. Of course all high school football games are fun and full of energy, as well as feature an uptempo marching band playing fight songs in the background when their team scores. But football rivalries, like the game this week between Atholton and Reservoir, have another element that can not be described unless you witness the rowdy atmosphere firsthand. Everything is taken up a couple notches as the environment is much more vibrant and energetic. Students not only root for their team, but bash and taunt opposing team fans and earn bragging rights over their friends that attend the school. In the past, Atholton has gone head to head with Reservoir and made memorable moments that have fed into making it a new big time rivalry.
This Friday, Atholton will take on the Gators. Despite a tough loss to Long Reach last week, the Raiders are still poised to make a great run and perhaps make the playoffs for the first time in four years. Many players use games like this not only as extra motivation, but also as a way to redirect their season and get back on track. These games can be the turning point in a team’s season. No matter the records of the two opponents, these games have something extra to it that creates a huge momentum boost to the winner despite how the previous games went. Last year, Reservoir was 0-2 until they played Atholton, and it’s apparent that the victory boosted their morale and ultimately propelled them to a state semifinals appearance. Not only will the stadium be filled with students, but with both teams not getting off to the start they wanted (Atholton 1-1, Reservoir 0-2) makes this game all the more important.
Reservoir has replaced River Hill as our main rival in the past couple of years. Both schools are relatively the same distance away from Atholton, and all three draw from the same middle schools, so it’s not entirely obvious as to why Reservoir is now priority number one in athletics over River Hill. Although, if people used districting lines to accurately show a school’s main rival, then Wilde Lake would be the number one rival for Atholton. Also, Wilde Lake and Atholton completely split Wilde Lake Middle School in half as one of their main draw schools. Although Wilde Lake is up there as a possible rival, they are a very loose rival as both schools have other teams on their mind.
This Friday, Atholton will take on the Gators. Despite a tough loss to Long Reach last week, the Raiders are still poised to make a great run and perhaps make the playoffs for the first time in four years. Many players use games like this not only as extra motivation, but also as a way to redirect their season and get back on track. These games can be the turning point in a team’s season. No matter the records of the two opponents, these games have something extra to it that creates a huge momentum boost to the winner despite how the previous games went. Last year, Reservoir was 0-2 until they played Atholton, and it’s apparent that the victory boosted their morale and ultimately propelled them to a state semifinals appearance. Not only will the stadium be filled with students, but with both teams not getting off to the start they wanted (Atholton 1-1, Reservoir 0-2) makes this game all the more important.
Reservoir has replaced River Hill as our main rival in the past couple of years. Both schools are relatively the same distance away from Atholton, and all three draw from the same middle schools, so it’s not entirely obvious as to why Reservoir is now priority number one in athletics over River Hill. Although, if people used districting lines to accurately show a school’s main rival, then Wilde Lake would be the number one rival for Atholton. Also, Wilde Lake and Atholton completely split Wilde Lake Middle School in half as one of their main draw schools. Although Wilde Lake is up there as a possible rival, they are a very loose rival as both schools have other teams on their mind.
Both these schools have so much history in great games in such a short time of this rivalry. Whenever these teams play, its always important, and it will almost always be a great game. As the two rivals take the field on Friday, one thing is for sure, it will surely be a dogfight to the finish line and one of the most memorable games of the year.
The main reason, despite many people thinking that districting lines decide the rivalry, is the ability to compete. In the past couple years, Atholton and Reservoir have been at each other’s throats and participating in tight contests against each other in many sports not just football. In basketball in particular, Reservoir and Atholton have provided some incredible entertainment. Two years ago, Brandon Willis hit a buzzer beater to force overtime against the Gators, and the Raiders eventually won the game. The Raiders lost to Reservoir in controversial fashion that same year in the playoffs. Go back another year, and who could forget the great Atholton comeback in the last couple minutes to stun the Gators? That’s just basketball, and even on the baseball diamond the two schools go at each other’s throats to come out on top. In the past couple of years, the Raiders have upset the Gators in the regular season but unfortunately they lost to them in the regional quarterfinals. There has also been marquee pitching battles between Blake James and Cody Morris. Of course with football, three years ago, the Raiders forced overtime by kicking a field goal at the end of regulation to tie the game up, albeit being an eventual loss for Atholton. These are just Varsity games. Even JV teams in the past years have had very close and competitive games that make the bad blood of the rivalry start early for underclassmen.
These rivalries and animosities towards other schools can sometimes escalate into trash talking on the field. Sometimes, leftover feelings towards another school can even be spilt onto social media outlets such as Twitter. Following last week’s game between Mt. Hebron and Centennial, many players furiously took to Twitter to display their disgust for the other team. In fact, Atholton was even in a Twitter beef with Mt. Hebron following the Raiders big win against the Vikings on Homecoming last year. Many Atholton athletes have been saying that there will plenty of trash talking and kind words between them and Reservoir this Friday. Will this game end up in an altercation on Twitter? We will have to wait and see.
Both these schools have so much history in great games in such a short time of this rivalry. Whenever these teams play, it’s always important, and it will almost always be a great game. As the two rivals take the field on Friday, one thing is for sure, it will surely be a dogfight to the finish line and one of the most memorable games of the year.
These rivalries and animosities towards other schools can sometimes escalate into trash talking on the field. Sometimes, leftover feelings towards another school can even be spilt onto social media outlets such as Twitter. Following last week’s game between Mt. Hebron and Centennial, many players furiously took to Twitter to display their disgust for the other team. In fact, Atholton was even in a Twitter beef with Mt. Hebron following the Raiders big win against the Vikings on Homecoming last year. Many Atholton athletes have been saying that there will plenty of trash talking and kind words between them and Reservoir this Friday. Will this game end up in an altercation on Twitter? We will have to wait and see.
Both these schools have so much history in great games in such a short time of this rivalry. Whenever these teams play, it’s always important, and it will almost always be a great game. As the two rivals take the field on Friday, one thing is for sure, it will surely be a dogfight to the finish line and one of the most memorable games of the year.
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