Unrivaled

 

They were from rival schools and, truth be known, they probably didn’t like each other very much.

Jon Young went to William Blount High School where he played quarterback.  He was actually the last William Blount quarterback to beat Maryville High. He would want me to tell you that.

Nick Black attended Maryville High School where he was All-State in both football and track.  He went on to play football at Clemson University. He never lost to William Blount.  He would want me to tell you that.

Jon is now Instructional Supervisor for Blount County Schools.  Prior to that, he had served as a Principal, Assistant Principal, Teacher, and Football Coach.

Nick is now a local lawyer and member of the Maryville City School Board. He hopes to be a judge someday.

Jon and Nick played against each other in high school, with Nick’s MHS team coming out on top 65-7 his senior year. Jon remembers that loss vividly.  He didn’t really care for the Rebels. And Nick didn’t care much for the Govs either.

Such are high school rivalries.  Oh…Nick is my son. And I was there for that game.

Jump ahead several years and Jon is the freshman football coach at Heritage High School. I happened to be talking to Nick about Jon during that time. “This kid Jon Young is a heck of a coach and a really super young man.”

He was impressive, even as young as he was. You could tell then that he was a good one. Calm. Inspirational. The kind of coach you want your kid to play for.

I’m not going to throw Nick under the bus here—I’ll just say that he still had a little of that high school rivalry thing in him and doubted my appraisal.

Jump ahead a few more years and they both ended up on the football coaching staff at Maryville High School under George Quarles. And that’s where the magic started.

Coaches spend a lot of time together. Jon and Nick shared a desk in the coaching office. And they became great friends—a friendship that has lasted to this day.  As Maryville’s Athletic Trainer, I got to watch the friendship develop. It was a treat for this old dad.

Oh, they still tease each other, and I know my son—he probably brings up that game his senior year from time to time. But you can tell when they’re around each other that they really like each other.

Isn’t that what it’s all about? Kids grow up in this community.  They might play little league or pee-wee football or Parks & Rec basketball together. They might attend sleepovers with their friends. They could attend the same birthday parties, have the same friends.

Then they go to different schools and end up on rival teams. Where is it written that they have to dislike each other?

I’ve always admired the Alcoa/Maryville rivalry.  Kids have friends from the other school, maybe even date someone from the other school. That doesn’t lessen the rivalry—I think it adds to it. You definitely want to win that game, regardless of how many friends you have on the other team.

That wasn’t true where I grew up. Loudon and Lenoir City hated each other. Still do. I went to Loudon and we didn’t even like Halloween, since it featured orange and black (Lenoir City’s colors). There were always fights and various shenanigans.

It doesn’t have to be that way. (I even like some people from Lenoir City now.)

So here’s the good news: Jon’s dad Ricky and I got to sit back and watch these two young men grow up, have really great families, make a difference in the community that they grew up in, and become steadfast friends.

How cool is that!