But a rivalry takes two, and Greater Atlanta Christian coach Jimmy Chupp said they haven't done their part. The two teams' meet for the first time Friday night at Buford's new stadium since playing for the Class AA state title last December.
"It doesn't seem like much of one to me because you have to have both teams beating each other. And we simply have not been able to get it done lately," Chupp said.
And he means lately. The Spartans (3-1, 0-1 in Region 8-AA) have not beaten the Wolves (3-0, 1-0) since 1998.
Last year's title game was typical of many of their recent meetings. GAC jumped out to 3-0 only to see Buford score 34 unanswered points in a 34-10 win. Buford won the regular season game 35-10.
Buford coach Dexter Wood said either one of those could have gone differently.
"They made some mistakes and we were able to capitalize. But when they don't make mistakes, they usually play even with us. They're a good team and we have to play at our best to win," Wood said.
The same problem that has plagued GAC over the past three years at least will still be present - Buford's Darius Walker. He's had some of his biggest games against GAC. Walker last week scored five touchdowns in a 38-0 win over Banks County.
"We have to find a way to stop him, and their quarterback Kyle Manley and top receiver Ryan Wood," Chupp said. "We have to work very hard to stop their offense."
Wood said despite Walker's effort, he wasn't satisfied with his senior star.
"I told him at halftime I didn't think he was running as hard as he could and challenged him. he came out and scored on a 64-yard run to start the third quarter," Wood said. "When he puts his mind to it he's unstoppable."
The Spartans were plagued by that last week in a 24-21 upset loss to Wesleyan. Chupp said they weren't looking ahead, either.
"I don't think so because we had our hands full from the beginning and we knew we would," he said. "But we're definitely going to have to play better to have any chance against Buford."
Wood said for any fan, this is the kind of game that should induce excitement.
"This is a big rival in Gwinnett, the region and the state. This is the kind of game that makes high school football so exciting," he said.
Let's hope the game lives up to the usual hype.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2003/10/171581