oldfaithful

Well said I think the future has the potential to be very bright. Looking forward to this upcoming season.

No sense in arguing with them PP68, both programs have done great things. The run Marion had in the 80's to mid 90's was something special and to be honest not many programs will ever be able to experience. Not many programs out there that can say they lost 1 game in 4 years and won 3 state championships in two different divisions. You fellas can poke fun at the old heads for bringing it up, but it is something to always be proud of and to have been grateful to be able to witness. 14,15, and 16 teams were very good who just happened to have bad timing Since the influx of talent SP has had beginning in 04, they have had a good stretch of success with few down years. You fellas should have way more gold in the trophy case. I believe we should have at least 2 more in the trophy case but sometimes the breaks just don't go your way.

Had a little time on my hands so I decided to do a deep dive on the rivalry. I'm and old head, so some of this was new information to me. The series stands at 52-40 right now in favor of SP. - SP has led the series for its entire existence with the exception of 1932-36 when MC held an 8-3 lead. - SP has won 2 games or more in a row 12 times. There longest streaks where: 5 (1933-37) 4 (1941-43 played twice in one year) 6 (1946. 1949-53) 4 (1962-65) 4 (1974-77) 8 (2006-13) 4 (2016-2020) - MC was down in the rivalry 32-17 going into the year of 1978. From 1978-1995 MC went 16-2 in that time span (put that in your pipe and smoke it OP ) to bring the series to 34-33 SP. - MC has won 2 games or more in a row 9 times. Their longest streaks where: 6 (1927-32) 8 (1978-85) 8 (88-95) Fun Facts In 1985 SP was the state runner up and lost to MC 35-21. In 2016 MC was the state runner up and lost to SP 24-17. This was the second best game of all time in the series that I have been able to witness during my lifetime. In 1994, both teams won the state in their classifications, SP in 1A and MC in 3A. When both teams met that year, MC came out on top 6-0, thanks to some guy named Eric Westmorland who returned a Perry Hutchins INT for the only points of the game. This game is hands down the best game of all time in the series in my opinion. I was alive but not old enough to really comprehend what was taking place in the 1969 game. My dad and the majority of the really old folks are of the opinion that this was the best game of all time. SP won 28-22 in a close one. This was also the first year they won the state championship. An honorable mention would be the 2004 game, where Scott Wilson went streaking down the field to put the Warriors up with less than a minute left in a 27-22 MC victory. Some folks say he and Eric are still running till this day MC best class since they began playing football went a total of 56-1 over the span of 4 years and won state 3 of the 4 years in 2 different classifications (2A and 3A) SP has had some classes with some good runs but I am unsure of which had the highest win total. Need some of you Pirates fans to enlighten us on this. Hope you guys enjoy this, and hopefully this gives some of the outsiders like BPM and others some info on it.

I wouldn't go that far. If the rivalry goes for a long stretch, say 10 or 20 years without being reunited across all sports, football being the key cog in all of this, then the move towards consolidation will really make some strides. Just my opinion but I've been wrong plenty of times before.

If you want to go off the last 10 years, both programs have been to the title game 3 times a piece. If you bump it back 11 years, SP has been 4 times compared to MC's 3.

That is right PP68, I forgot all about that. It was actually a couple of years after Pickens graduated. Rodney, Shane, and Brian were something to watch.

You beat me to that jab

Hate to see that the game got dropped but times have changed. We played a home and home with them when Dale was here the first time. They brought a good team to town in the first matchup and won a close one. Dale left after that season and wasn't here for the trip to Murphy. Believe they brought a decent crowd if I remember correctly. Future looks bright for MC and SP at the moment.

I would never say never, but I think you are 99% right. There is A LOT of money to be made in coaching these days and unfortunately it's hard to hang on to a top notch guy. To be honest, if the stars didn't align just right Vic wouldn't have been there as long as he was. In the end it all worked out for both parties.

OP/ROY, thanks for the response but I was strictly talking about football. That was my fault for not making it clear. I will say you guys did a great job in hiring Brian Paris. Haven't spoken to him in a while but he is a great man and a great coach. Is he still there or has he moved on? I've always loved the Phillips brothers, can't say enough good things about them. Congrats on the hire. I believe he will be a good one for you guys. One last thing, I think you might want to change the "It's coming" to something else to bring in the new era. The only thing us coach t posters have seen when you fellas turn on the "It's coming" signal is A HEEP OF SILVER, BUT NO GOLD. Those fellas at Whitwell said that the Peerats and Warriors could come take a look if we would like.

Uh oh.......

100% this. Hard for me to believe that all will be forgotten and he will be welcomed back with open arms. Seems to be what is happening from the outside looking in. Also very hard for me to believe that Vic doesn't have any input at all on the coaching decision, given what his family name means to the program. I see a lot of P4L being mentioned on here but there has been two memorable occurrences that involved former alumni. Just for conversation, I can't recall any alumni or coaches from MC making the move to SP. For SP, Randy Kirkpatrick (former player), Troy Boeck, and Tim Starkey. This isn't an attempt to say one school is better than the other, just something that crossed my mind at the moment. Glad to hear that the player has been cleared to play this year. It was fun to throw one or two jabs but I'm too old to get caught up in all this drama.

Couldn't have said it better. Just follow the money.

BPM have you ever seen this guy type clear and articulate English? He must be so mad he spoke out of character. Well if that's the case you fellas have been blind for nearly 10 years now. Unless the "It's Coming" reference was to Silver balls

Well, I appreciate the long detailed response OP/Ol Roy. It makes my day knowing that you set aside personal time in your day for Oldfaitful. That post must have chapped your ace You know, I know, and everyone else knows, if Vic thought he had a legit chance of winning another gold ball in the next 2 years, he would still be driving the ship. He knows what is waiting for him on the other side. How was this breaking news to everyone? Half of your fellow posters where on here saying that they knew the same info PP68 was hearing. Man, Vic jumps ship and you fellas start to unravel. YEP RECON SO