Strafford and Fair Grove; the two schools are a mere 9.7 miles apart, which makes for a great rivalry.
“The stands are always full of people, and we’ve got our stands coming and it’s going to be a big big game,” said Strafford quarterback Wyatt Maples.
On the football field, the wins and losses alternate between the two schools year after year.
“I think to me as a senior it means a lot, because my freshman and sophomore year we beat Strafford, and the years before that we’ve been killed by Strafford, so it felt pretty good to get back at them,” said Fair Grove offensive lineman Garrett Love.
The blood runs thick.
“Last year when they took our conference championship away from us, that kind of hurt, so this year we’re looking at getting back at them,” Love said.
This is a pure Mid-Lakes rivalry and the two teams are squaring off in Week 6 – both undefeated.
“I mean yeah, of course there is some pressure, but it’s always a big game whether or not we’re 5-0,” said Maples.
These schools seriously hate each other, which makes things a little awkward for Maples and Love, who grew up a minute apart.
“Shoot, I’ve known him since probably we could crawl,” said Love.
“We’ve been fishing a few times. Spent Fourth of July together and stuff like that,” said Maples. “That was pretty fun, we almost got fireworks thrown back at us that one year,” Love said.
It’s all fun and games until the helmets come on.
“Maybe after the game we’ll be friends, but not during the game,” said Love.
But when they come off, they go back to being friends.
“I mean it’s always fun seeing him on the other side, but during the game it gets kind of serious and we go at it. But in the end we’re still good,” Maples said.
