In the same year North Hall and East Hall high schools first played each other on the football field, a 14-year-old named Bobby Fischer won the United States Chess Championship for the first time, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was formed, and Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments and Robert Noyce of Fairchild Semiconductors co-invented the microchip.
Now, 65 years later, the two Hall County rivals will meet for the 58th time at The Brickyard as the Trojans (3-0, 1-0 Region 8A-AAAA) celebrate homecoming and welcome a new selection of former players to the program’s hall of fame.
From 1958, the first year the two met on the field, through 2007, the matchup was a constant on the schedule. The game was left off the schedule from 2008-2011, then again in 2014-15 and finally in 2020-21.
The history of the series has flip-flopped through the years and each team has seen stretches of dominance within it.
In that first meeting, the Vikings (2-1, 1-1 Region 8A-AAAA) won handedly, 48-7. There was a span from 1979 to 1987 when East Hall won nine straight and outscored the Trojans 199-56.
Of late, it’s been North Hall that’s been hard to beat.
The Trojans are currently on a 13-0 run dating back to the 2002 season. During this spell, North Hall has outscored the Vikings 690-221. Last season, it was a 69-0 affair.
“If our kids know (about the streak), it’s because they’ve read it in the paper recently,” Trojans’ Head Coach Sean Pender said. “The thing I have to make sure our kids do is not pay attention to that score from last year or don’t pay attention to what’s happened in the past. Right now, we just have to focus on this game.”
Pender, who is in his second season at the helm, has seen his offensive and defensive production do complete 180-degree turns from last season.
Through three games a year ago in 2022, North Hall was scoring 15.6 points per game and allowing 34.3 points to opposing teams. This season, the Trojans are putting up 39 points per contest and allowing just 15.6.
Pender attributes a few different things to the improvements on both sides of the ball, but the main ones are senior leadership, buy in from players, hard work, and effort, attitude and toughness, or EAT.
“When everyone starts drinking the same Kool-Aid and you have that buy in and everyone starts believing, the success you have when everyone is on the same page, that’s what I’d contribute the turn around to more than anything,” Pender said. “Everyone has bought in to the program. Everyone understands what it takes. We have this little thing we say here about effort, attitude and toughness – ‘In the North, we EAT’.”
The EAT mantra is not a new thing in sports. It reflects the effort athletes are expected to put into their games, the attitude they bring to the field, and the toughness – physical, mental and emotional – they should play with to be successful.
The players have clearly taken to the message as the Trojans are off to a perfect start this season after being 0-3 at this same point a year ago.
Morale heading into Friday’s contest is way up from last year, too.
“The kids have some confidence in their abilities and some confidence in what we’re doing,” Pender said. “As long as our kids are getting better every day, whether it’s with their technique or their understanding of what we’re doing or their conditioning, it’s important to improve and have the mindset of ‘I’ve just got to find a way to get better today.’ If we can keep doing that, the morale will stay high because we’ll continue to find success.”
The Vikings have also made improvements to their production on both sides of the ball, allowing over four points less and scoring over seven points more per game this season.
Sophomore quarterback Jamarcus Harrison is leading the charge for East Hall.
Harrison has thrown the ball 65 times, completing 34 for 510 yards and five touchdowns. He also has two scores on the ground with 40 carries for 299 yards.
“We’re going to have to contain their quarterback. Their quarterback is the best player on their team by far,” Pender said. “He’s dynamic. He’s a solid runner. He’s a big kid. He’s got a cannon for an arm. He can extend plays, so we’ve got to find a way to get pressure on him and contain him.”
Fellow sophomore Lukas Pruitt has added another pair of scores in the run game with 44 carries for 205 yards.
East Hall is going to have a lot to contend with from the Trojans’ offense.
Quarterback Tanner Marsh is on a tear this season, coming back from a broken hand that moved him to linebacker last year.
The senior has already amassed 850 yards of total offense (641 passing, 209 rushing) and 11 total touchdowns.
“If you want to talk about the most improved player from one year to the next, this kid is really learning how to play quarterback,” Pender said. “His hard work and effort has really paid off.”
Senior running back Tate Ruth is coming back from a broken hand over the summer as well. Last week was his first week out of the cast on his arm and he dashed for 55 yards and a score.
Pender praised Ruth’s vision, toughness and balance. He also complimented the running back’s quick burst and his pass catching ability out of the backfield.
Still, with all those qualities, none of them are what sets Ruth apart for the head coach.
“What makes him probably the most valuable, more than his running and pass catching abilities, is his ability to pick up the blitz in the passing game,” Pender said. “He’s great in blitz pick up. That’s huge for us on the offensive side of the ball.”
Senior receiver Ryals Puryear is also off to a nice start for the Trojans.
Puryear has 25 catches for 329 yards and three scores.
“Right now I think (Puryear is) around 36-37 percent of our targets in the passing game,” Pender said. “He’s making the most of it. He’s plenty quick enough – he’s quicker than people think he is – he’s got really strong legs, he’s got great hands, and he’s got really good instincts. He knows how to run routes. He’s a solid all-around receiver.”
Both Puryear and Ruth have scored touchdowns in each game so far this season.
This series is heavily in the favor of East Hall in the all-time record with the Vikings currently sitting at 33-23-1 against the Trojans.
Pender hopes his team is able to steer clear of the distractions of rivalry, homecoming and hall of fame night. He hopes the crowd is affected by all those things and it creates an atmosphere his players can take advantage of.
“Whether the added-on festivities are a distraction, we’re going to do our best to make them not be distractions,” Pender said. “The energy you’re going to have, kids are kids and they’re going to feed off that energy. Hopefully all this extra stuff that’s happening is going to make the crowd a little bit more electric for Friday night and the kids can feed off that energy.”
North Hall and East Hall will kick off for the 58th time in 66 years Friday night at The Brickyard in Gainesville.
