Southern vs. Eastern: The Rivalry
VS. 
Southern vs. Eastern. These words are all it takes to get the adrenaline rushing through the veins of a student that attends either school. Whether it’s preparing to do battle on a court in a fierce game of volleyball or basketball, or the diamond in a slug-fest in the spring, or on the football field in the fall, the rivalry between these two in-county foes always creates an indescribable auora of excitement. Green and white vs. purple and gold, the Eagles vs. the Tornadoes – no matter how it is described, it means the same to the athletes who wear their respective school’s colors proudly, and the faithful fans and alumni of each school who support it. And as the Boys of Fall from these Meigs County rivals prepare to suit up and do battle on the gridiron on another chilly, Halloween weekend, the anticipation for Week 10 to arrive is high, so that the two teams can write another chapter in their already storied history.
Dating back to when both schools were members of the Southern Valley Athletic Conference (SVAC), through present day where both schools compete in the Hocking division of the Tri-Valley Conference (TVC), Eastern and Southern have shared a rivalry in all sports. The rivalry eventually peaked to what it is today in the early 90’s, when the Gallia county combatants in the SVAC consolidated into one school (now known as River Valley), leaving the SVAC to disband and Southern and Eastern to seek a new conference. The two county enemies followed each other to the TVC, which split into it’s present day split of two divisions, which Eastern and Southern still play in to this day.
Upon the gridiron where the two teams will play in just a few weeks, Eastern leads the series by a sizeable margin of 37-12. But one stat doesn’t mean everything, and anything can happen when the Eagles and Tornadoes meet in any sport, none-the-less one as unpredictable as football. And a couple of interesting facts – in the last three years, the game has been decided by less than two touchdowns, and starting with the 2005 contest, the home team has only won once. But Eastern managed to gain the first home victory in the series in five years last year, and Southern could possibly keep that trend rolling, as they have the Eagles on home turf this season. And with both teams experiencing a season of what many would call equal disappointment, each being 2-5 as of this writing, it should be an evenly matched contest when these two go head-to-head, and each young team will be hungry for a victory.
As the county eagerly awaits the annual showdown on the gridiron, arguably the favorite high school pastime and the largest stage the rivalry plays out on each year, many people have thoughts on the storied history, and the upcomng game. Former Southern football player Mike Tomlinson says, “The rivalry is intense among the two teams. The week before the game always has the best practices, and the atmosphere in the school is electric.” Tomlinson was on the team that gained Southern’s last win on the field against Eastern, who won 30-18 at Eastern during the 2008 campaign. And what did he have to say about that? ” I had the pleasure of being on the winning team the last year I played and I will admit it was one of the best feelings in my life. To go out to their field, and win, is just one thing you have to experience to really know what it’s like to beat the people you consider enemies.” Star basketball senior point guard Andrew Roseberry says, “Southern is simply a better school. We’re going to dominate them in all sports this year.” Personally as a student athlete that participates in the rivalry myself, the best was I can describe it is electric. Taking that field against a school that you hate, that hates you, that you have so much history with, the atmosphere is truly electric. That feeling, the adrenaline rush you experience, the mode or zone you break away to, is something truly hard to describe, and it’s truly hard for words to do justice.
So as jack-o-lanterns appear on porches, the screams of candy and trick-or-treat feel the Meigs County towns, and leaves upon the trees change from green to shades of oranges, yellows, and reds, Autumn is not the only thing in the air. For as the eerie full moons and blood-curdling howls of coyotes fill the air on Halloween weekend, two bitter rivals with no love lost for each other will prepare to do battle for the 50th time on the football field. Saturday, October 29th, 2011: the date. And as the sun fades to black, the stadium lights brighten the gridiron, and the aroma of popcorn and screams of fans fill the night sky, two rivals will go to war, and one will emerge victorious, writing yet another page in the book that is this rivalry.
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