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The question was posed to our staff following this year’s BlueCross Bowls:
When looking at the Midstate, what are some of the best area rivalry games that take place in our coverage area?
We decided that with the offseason now here, we may as well go ahead and dive deep into that question. So with that in mind, here’s part two of a three-part series where we’ll examine some of the best rivalries in the 615 Preps coverage.
Note: The rivalries included in this series will only include schools in our coverage area. You can see the full list of schools in our coverage area here.
RIVALRY SERIES: 615 Preps rivalry series, Part 1
WAY-TOO-EARLY PICKS: 615 Preps picks its 2024 state champions
WAY-TOO-EARLY RANKINGS: 615 Preps large, medium and small class rankings entering 2024
Beech vs. Hendersonville
First Meeting: 1983
Another long-time Sumner County rivalry, to put it simply, there’s no love lost between the Buccaneers and Commandos.
Hendersonville swept the Buccaneers in 2021 winning both the regular and postseason matchup but historically and over the last two years, it’s been all Beech. The Buccaneers hold a slim 24-19 lead over their crosstown foes.
As for the last two years, the Buccaneers have rolled in their matchups with the Commandos. Beech won the last two matchups by an average of 23.5 points.
Brentwood vs. Franklin
First Meeting: 1985
In recent years it may not seem like this is much of a rivalry, but a deeper look shows that this is one of Williamson County’s best and longest-running rivalry.
Brentwood’s dominated in recent years winning eight straight to take a 25-21 series lead over the Admirals. Runs of success have been the best way to describe how this series has played out since the first meeting.
The Bruins’ current eight-game streak is currently the longest of the entire series. While the Bruins have had some blowout wins in that streak, they’ve also gotten more than many people would have expected out of the Admirals the last two years.
DeKalb County vs. Upperman
First Meeting: 1951
All of Baxter and Smithville come out when the Bees and Tigers are set to square. Recently though, the Bees have stung the Tigers more often than not.
Seven straight Upperman wins have tied the teams with 23 wins each while they also have three ties tied in. During that stretch, only two of those games were decided by less than 10 points. Upperman also boasts a 43-0 win in 2018 and 35-0 win in 2019.
DeKalb County’s last win in the series came in 2016 when they beat the Bees 14-7. The Tigers’ best run in the series came between 1985 and 1994 where they won five straight.
East Nashville vs. Pearl-Cohn
First Meeting: 2009
While Pearl-Cohn has dominated this rivalry since 2009 going 12-1, this is one we at 615 Preps hope gets going again soon considering the run of success each program has endured recently.
East Nashville has established itself as one of the best Class 3A programs in the state with three straight state title game appearances. Pearl-Cohn has done the same in Class 4A with back-to-back state title appearances. The Firebirds got over the hump this year winning the state championship and giving Metro Nashville its first state title since 2008.
The last time these two played was in 2020 with Pearl-Cohn winning the regular season matchup 42-21 and postseason game 41-0. East Nashville’s lone win of the series came in 2014 with the Eagles coming out on top 38-36.
Reigniting this series now would be a major win for the city of Nashville. Let’s get Metro Nashville’s top programs back out on the field soon.
Ensworth vs. MBA
First Meeting: 2007
Separated by just seven miles, it only comes naturally that Ensworth and MBA have developed one of the best rivalries around. Just look at the series record.
Following a five-year win streak, the Big Red now lead the series 12-11.
Between the high-profile celebrities known to come out to the games to the numerous future Power Five players that come out of each program every year, seeing the Big Red and Tigers square off yearly is a must for fans of Nashville high school football.
Gallatin vs. Springfield
First Meeting: 1926
When looking at long-time Gallatin rivalries, you’d typically run down their list of Sumner County foes. Not this time.
This Robertson County and Sumner County rivalry is one of the longest-running in the state and has been a back-and-forth affair since the start. Gallatin’s 34-33-2 series lead proves that.
The two sides played consecutively from 1928-1944 and 1952-1988 before a 13-year hiatus. They resumed in 2001 playing four straight seasons before a break until 2011. Once resuming again they played until 2018 another break .
That break lasted until this past season where the Green Wave won 17-7. Hopefully this is a start to another long run between the teams.
Lebanon vs. Mt. Juliet
First Meeting: 1938
Green Hill and Mt. Juliet may be the new and fun Wilson County rivalry, the but Blue Devils and Golden Bears date back several decades.
You have to go back to the late 1930’s for the first matchup between the schools. After starting in 1938 and playing through 1944, the series took a long hiatus. That break lasted until 1977 and they’ve played ever year since then.
Mt. Juliet leads the series 32-20 taking control from 2009-2020 when the Golden Bears won 12 straight. Lebanon won back-to-back blowouts in 2021 and 2022 but Mt. Juliet got back on track in thrilling fashion coming from being down big to beat the Blue Devils 38-31 in double overtime.
Macon County vs. Trousdale County
First Meeting: 1933
With close to 80 games under their belt, the Yellow Jackets and Tigers have played almost annually since the early 1930’s.
It’s also what we at 615 Preps call the Chris Brooks (Macon County grad) and Cam Reid (Trousdale County grad) Bowl.
The schools first squared off in 1933 and took a year off before resuming in 1935 and continued playing off and on up to 1992. Following the 1992 season, the series took a break before resuming in 2001. Since then, the sides have played every year aside from 2015 and 2016.
Trousdale County holds a commanding 54-21-1 series lead. However, a couple of down years for the Yellow Jackets have seen the Tigers come in and dominate the last two meetings. They won both of those games 42-0.
Nolensville vs. Page
First Meeting: 2017
This newer rivalry has produced some of the best atmospheres in recent memory and decided a couple of region titles in the process.
After Page cruised to a 43-13 win in the first ever meeting, they got a scare the next year from the Knights only winning that matchup 38-35. It picked back up in 2021 with a blowout Page win before the Knights gave them a scare again the playoffs.
Nolensville picked up its first series win in 2022 beating the Patriots 27-21. Page answered that win with three straight in the series including two more postseason wins.
Portland vs. White House
First Meeting: 1943
Sumner County rivalries like Gallatin/Hendersonville and Beech/Hendersonville may get the spotlight now, but you can’t forget about the rivalry between the Panthers and Blue Devils.
From their first meeting in 1943 to the last meeting this season that White House won 7-6, this rivalry has been defined by incredible game after incredible game. The rivalry hit its peak in the 1980’s through the early 2000’s before White House won nine of ten between 2002-2011.
Fans of each team have been treated to some classics the last few years as well. White House won a 32-31 nail-biter in 2020, they won a 55-40 shootout the next year, Portland repaid both of those losses in 2022 with a 49-21 win before White House got back on track this season winning a defensive slugfest.
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