It didn’t take first-year Marshall coach Jake Griedl long to understand the depth of the 108-year-old rivalry with neighboring Longview.

In 2017, then-offensive coordinator Griedl watched the Mavericks warm up against their fiercest rivals. He saw the home bleachers reach capacity well before kickoff, so he turned and surveyed the visitor’s bleachers, where he hoped to see some friendly faces.

“Those bleachers were full too, but everyone there was wearing green,” he recalled. “We had this tiny section of fans in a corner wearing red. They didn’t give us as many tickets as they’d give any other opponent. They knew their fans would fill the place for this game.”

Lobo Stadium will be full again Friday for the 109th – and 87th consecutive –  meeting between the East Texas neighbors. The proximity and familiarity, as you’d expect, breed a healthy amount of respectful contempt for teams looking to claim regional bragging rights for the next 365 days.

“It’s two towns 20 miles apart,” Longview coach John King said. “The towns and teams support each other, but not this week. After this Friday, we’ll wish them good luck with the rest of their games. But not this week.”

King’s taken part in 20 Longview-Marshall games and has seen everything a bonafide rivalry has to offer. Pranks from both sides. Tempers flaring on the field. Things boiled over in 2010 when a full-fledged donnybrook broke out. 

“We were up 9-7 in the third quarter,” he recalled. “It felt like it lasted for about 10 minutes. We just couldn’t get it under control. My gosh. We haven’t had something like that happen since and I hope we don’t, but you can just tell that this goes much deeper than just a game.”

A rivalry of swings

Longview’s had the upper hand since King took over the program, but it wasn’t always that way. The Mavericks lost just once over the first 17 games the teams played and led the series 28-12-3 after a 26-13 win in 1953. 

Over the next 40 years, Longview found its footing, winning 19 straight from 1969-87. Marshall regrouped and had the upper hand in the 1990s, and the Mavericks’ 38-28 win in 2000 denied Longview a playoff spot. 

“I think the longevity makes it special,” Griedl said. “And most years, at least up until the mid-2000s, I think Marshall and Longview were always in the same district. Back when only one team from each district qualified for the playoffs, that made things all that much more intense.”

King remembers it like it was yesterday.

“My first game was in 2000,” King said. “We went over to Marshall and they whipped our ass. But the next year was a big win for us.”

Playing at home in 2001, Longview prevailed 28-23, earning a playoff spot and starting a post-season streak that continues today. The 2018 state championship aside, the 2001 win over Marshall may be the most significant in his tenure.

“That win flipped the script for our program and we’ve made the playoffs every year since,” he said.

While the Lobos certainly enjoyed every minute of last season’s championship ride, King said they don’t think about it as they prepare for the 2019 edition of their longest rivalry.

“Last year was a great ride for us, but it doesn’t have anything to do with Friday night,” King said. “We know every week we have a bulls-eye on our chest because everyone wants to beat the state champions. We just have to play this game and not live in the past.”

The bulls-eye may be extra bright as Marshall takes its shot at the champs. Griedl said the fact that the Lobos currently hold the state championship only adds to their historic aura. How his team handles that will be one of the keys to the game.

“We want to see our kids go fight,” he said, likely speaking figuratively and not literally given the history between the teams. “Longview is the type of team that in most games walks into the stadium with a 10-point advantage because they wear the rocking L on their helmets. Do we let that bother us?”

About the 2019 Meeting

The Mavericks enter the game in a state of flux. Quarterback JJ Green’s been dismissed from the team, and Griedl’s had to go back to the drawing board to re-focus the game plan. He said he’d pull on the example King’s set in his Longview tenure: be resolute and stick to the plan.

“We know we have to keep their offense off the field,” he said. “We’re going to have to find a way to gain some easy yards, and Longview doesn’t give up easy yards. It will be a slobber-knocker type game, so we’re going to swing away and see if we can make something good happen.”

The recent history hasn’t been very kind to Griedl’s Mavericks, but even those games have value.

“Unfortunately for us, the last few years this has turned into a practice game for Longview,” Griedl said. Longview’s won the last three games by an average score of 52-9. “This game allows us to gauge where we are and what we need to work on.”

King doesn’t put too much stock in what happened last year – or last week even. He knows his team must improve on last week’s 24-21 win over Lufkin, another longtime rival, to come out on top.

“We had won 13 in a row against them when we lost in 2015 at Marshall,” he said. “That game rekindled the rivalry. We really saw the pleasure that the other side takes in beating your ass. We don’t want to have that happen again.”

Regardless of how things play out Friday night, both coaches know one thing is for certain. Neither side will give an inch. In this rivalry, it’s just not allowed.

“One player pushes another or says something, and the other player isn’t going to back down because you just can’t do it or you’ll hear about it for the rest of your life,” King said. “These kids compete against each other in everything. You’re going to stand up for yourself and your team because you just don’t have a choice.”