On August 30th, the roars from the visitor’s side of the Stone Castle were deafening. But from the home side, the cheers could be heard across state lines.

Long standing rivals, the Vikings and the Patriots, met on the field to play their annual rival match at the end of August. Like seasons prior, the Vikings had to live up to their long, undefeated legacy, and the Patriots had to try to beat the odds. However, this year, the Vikings didn’t disappoint, making it out with a clean win: 36-3.

Every year, the highly anticipated match leaves both teams preparing relentlessly to come out on top, as they’re competing for both the win and the glory. But this long-standing rivalry runs deep, intertwining with the schools’ histories.

“East was built in the late 60’s, and Tennessee High was a school many years before,” said coach Matt Chandler. “It immediately became a rival.”

 

 

When East was established, they were relatively close in size to Tennessee High, typically leaning towards more students than the Vikings. They were evenly equipped.

Now, Tennessee High is a 5A division school in comparison to East’s 4A. The student body is also larger in number, providing more athletes at Tennessee High’s disposal.

“They annexed a big portion of the county into Bristol City,” said coach Matt Chandler. “When that annexation occurred, a bunch of people came to Tennessee High.”

This is the second year the Vikings have played the Patriots after they took a long break from 2010 all the way until 2023, making every play that much more important.

“East just told us they weren’t going to play us anymore,” said Chandler.

The Viking fans can attribute the excitement to the coaches for creating an interesting and methodical game. All the decisions the coaches make in game are premeditated to ensure this.

“As we watched [the other team’s] film, we thought we saw some places where we could be successful running the ball,” said coach Derek Dowdell.

The Vikings prepared for this game by going over prior games to look for weak spots. The team gathers together to learn from past game plays and tactics. “Instead of studying books, you watch film,” said quarter-back Jack Richardson.

Years later, the excitement is still palpable. Every play is met by a range of reactions from the crowd. “In the first half we had some very successful plays running the ball,” said Dowdell.

As the ball is flying through the air, the suspense is at an all time high. Excitement radiates throughout the stadium as both the crowd and the team anticipate seeing the Castle lights shimmer up and down Weaver Pike when the Vikings score.

Attempting to ground himself in the moment, wide receiver Barron Harkleroad jumps up and catches the ball, scoring the Vikings a touchdown.

“We threw it to him again and he made a tremendous play in the end zone,” said Dowdell.

 

 

The weak spots the Vikings found proved to be successful: they predicted the Patriots would throw the ball rather than running it. They met them with a strong defense to push the Patriots back, while not giving them the opportunity to score.

“Defense played lights out,” said Dowdell. “I think [East] had like negative 11 yards rushing for the game.”

Even if this historical legacy has weakened the relationship between the two schools, it’s ultimately brought the Tennessee High community together.

The contract signed for Sullivan East to play against Tennessee high ends after two years. This leaves the question of if this rivalry will be continued next year.

“I kinda get the feeling it’s gonna be something they’re gonna do and take a couple years off of it [and] come back to it” said Chandler.

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