The Midland Valley Mustangs have been one of North Augusta’s biggest rivals since your grandparents could remember. But as the times have changed, has the rivalry fizzled? If the rivalry with MV has dwindled , who is our biggest rival in Varsity Football?

The cross-town element comes in to play with every ancient rivalry. Football players who play for Midland Valley probably went to middle and even elementary school with some of the players from the Yellow Jackets. Some of the players have known each other for years, but got separated with the transition of schools. As they grew apart, they might call each other “traitors” and bad blood builds. The love-hate relationship brings out the best and the worst. The players are more competitive and want to win more because they want to beat their “frinenemys.” They also bring a lot of anger to the field.

The rivalry has almost been inherited from past generations says junior Mallory Swann. “The rivalry has been passed down because our parents that went here (North Augusta) hate the valley too. It’s only become more of a rivalry over the years.”

So is the rivalry as intense as it’s made out to be? To coaches, the rivalry is not a big a deal. Coach Pippin was eager to say, “I think our bigger rival is Aiken High because they’ve won the region championships so many times; they’re the program we want to beat. I’ve never beaten them as a coach, not even when I was at South Aiken. That’s who we want to beat this year.”

So the Aiken High School Hornets are the new school rival? They aren’t as close geographically as Midland Valley, but they are closer to our level of competition when it comes to the football field. Teacher Mr. Hughes, who graduated from NAHS agrees. “When I was a younger guy, the bigger rival was Midland Valley because we were both 4-A. But now, I would say that Aiken is bigger because it’s the last game and they’re closer in level of game play.”

However, we can’t forget about those Strom Thurmond Rebels. They won the South Carolina AAA State Championship in 2005-2006 season, and since then, North Augusta has had them on the radar. They’re just as close when it comes to the cross-town aspect, and are close in competitiveness beating the jackets in the last several years.

Junior Zach Zeazer knew the Jackets would destroy the Mustangs but said, “The Strom Thurmond game is bigger than the MV game because they’re way better and we always beat the valley.”

The Yellow Jackets have proved they’re ready for hard hits, long runs, and intense action between the pylons, virtually destroying Midland Valley in the first game of the season. It seems that of the three cross-town rivals, the coach is right, Aiken is the biggest rival to the team. To the students, Midland Valley is the choice and some people would even include Strom Thurmond atop Pippin’s hit list for this season.

No matter which team you hate more, Coach knows best. “We can’t get too overconfident. If we get too pumped up, and you win, you still have a bunch of games to play. If you lose, you still have more games to play. Either way, one game doesn’t define a season.”

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