Gainesville High’s football team was named the No. 1 team in Class AAA this week; North Hall’s team couldn’t care less.

North Hall’s football team lost its last game by 28 points and has had two weeks to prepare for tonight’s game at City Park; that doesn’t faze Gainesville.

For you see, tonight’s game between the top-ranked Red Elephants (3-0) and the Trojans (1-1) means more than rankings, win/loss records or what either team did the week before. This game is about a rivalry, one that dates back to 1974 and has been played between two teams, and two communities, who really don’t like each other.

“It pumps us up having bragging rights in the county,” Gainesville quarterback Blake Sims said. “We’ll be pumped and everything, but we’ll still play smart because we know they’re gonna come at us.”

Sims’ quarterbacking counterpart concurs.

“North Hall versus Gainesville is the biggest rivalry around this town,” North Hall senior Nathan Jones said. “You just get so jacked up for it all week.”

The Trojans, who are coming off a bye week, have had more than a week to get jacked up for tonight’s affair.

“They’ve had a week off and I think that helps them be a little fresher,” Gainesville coach Bruce Miller said. “But all that doesn’t matter. This is a Georgia-Georgia Tech, Army-Navy, UCLA-Southern Cal type of situation where you don’t know who’s gonna win it because you don’t know what’s going to happen.”

What Miller does know is that North Hall coach Bob Christmas will have his team ready. After all, Christmas has led the Trojans to two straight wins at City Park.

“I’m trying not to think about that,” Miller said. “They do play well when they come down here and they’ve got a good, sound football team.”

Christmas doesn’t believe that past success will play any role in tonight’s matchup.

“Every year is different,” he said. “We like the atmosphere, but I don’t know if that’ll effect the outcome.”

One thing that will determine the outcome is limiting mistakes and containing Gainesville’s high-powered offense that is averaging 39 points per game.

“We’re preparing the same way that we prepare every week,” North Hall’s Robert Humphrey said. “But you can’t really simulate their speed.”

He would know, as the senior played at Gainesville last year.

“It’s a little more of a rivalry because I was there last year and that definitely gives me motivation,” Humphrey said.
“I want to stay calm and not get too hyped and let the game come to me.”

When competing against your bitter rivals, staying calm can be a challenge, when you realize the magnitude of the game.

“It’s the biggest game of the season,” Gainesville’s Teryan Rucker said. “We’ve been preparing for this game for the longest.
“We know they’re gonna come ready to play like they always do every year no matter the rankings.”

The fact that Gainesville is now the top team in Class AAA has not had an impact on either team’s preparation, and while they would love to be the ones to knock out the No. 1 team, the Trojans are not using that as a motivational tool.

“Anytime you have a rivalry this big, any ranking, stats or anything else doesn’t matter,” Jones said. “Anything can happen.”

Gainesville, which boasts a 17-4 record in the series, knows that all too well, as North Hall has won the last two games at City Park by an average of 23 points. The Red Elephants, however, have won three of the last four meetings, including a 27-0 win last year at The Brickyard.

“It’s a playoff type atmosphere and I think it’s a great challenge for our kids to be in that situation,” Miller said. “Every game has a different set of circumstances and we’re gonna have to play hard and I’m sure they’re going to play hard. We gotta be ready to play to the finish.”