Football: Vikings feel now is the time to end "The Streak"

RABBITTOWN, Ga. — Matt Turner’s memories of the East Hall-North Hall rivalry are fond ones, for the most part.

The 2001 East Hall grad was part of three Vikings wins over their cross-county rivals back in his time.

“Growing up back then, East Hall kind of owned North Hall,” said Turner, now the Vikings head coach, who is currently in his fourth season.

Turner wasn’t wrong. The Vikings won 33 of the first 44 meetings between the two teams from 1958 to 2001.

“(North Hall) wasn't very good back then. They weren't very competitive. But that changed when Coach (Bob) Christmas came in,” he said.

Did it ever. 

The Trojans snapped that three-game losing streak to Turner’s Vikings in 2002 (43-28) in the second season under Christmas and haven’t looked back. In fact, they haven’t lost to the Vikings since Turner's final season, coming into Friday’s latest showdown at The Brickyard riding a 14-game win streak over East Hall.

Turner did not play in the game his senior year in 2001 -- a 10-7 victory in Valhalla -- but was more than aware he was part of the 2000 squad that routed the Trojans 37-0 at The Brickyard in 2000. That was the last time the Vikings beat North Hall on the road.

“We almost always opened the season against them, and I thought we played really well for the first game (that year),” he said. “But yeah, that’s the last time we’ve won there. We thought we had a really good shot in 2016 and 2017 when I was an assistant coach, but it didn’t go our way.”

They scored 42 in The Brickyard in the 2016 game but gave up 68 in a season when the defense allowed 42.5 points/game. The 2017 game at East Hall Stadium saw them fall 31-20 in a game Turner said: “We played as bad as we could play.” The Vikings made the second round of the playoffs that season.

It’s been even rougher since. After not playing each other in 2020 or 2021, the series resumed in 2022. North Hall outscored the Vikings 118-14 in the past two seasons.

Friday night could represent the Vikings latest, best chance to snap their 23-year drought against the Trojans. They come in with a 3-0 record -- their first 3-0 start since 1990 -- while North Hall (0-2) has been close in losses to Wesleyan and Cherokee Bluff (a combined 5-1) but has been plagued by key special teams miscues.

North Hall brings in a two-headed quarterback monster with their spread attack in Alex Schleimann and Smith McGarvey, who have combined for 396 yards and 3 TDs but also have thrown 4 INTs.

Unlike years past, East Hall brings in a defense that has allowed just 21 total points (7.0 ppg), the Vikings’ best three-game defensive stretch since allowing just 10 points in wins over West Hall, Rabun County, and Union County in 2004.

They also come in with junior quarterback Jamarcus Harrison guiding an offense that is averaging 37.0 ppg -- fourth-best in Class 3A. Harrison has thrown for over 400 yards and 8 TDs and rushed for nearly 300 yards and 2 TDs so far. Chasen Jones leads the Vikings receivers with over 200 yards and 3 TDs. Harrison has connected with five different receivers for touchdown passes.

But despite all the positives coming into the game for Turner and the Vikings, he knows the mental hurdle will be the toughest one. The onfield keys for Turner were pretty simple, however.

“First, Jamarcus is going to have to play well. He's going to have to make plays when they're there to be made. He's going to have to take care of the football,” Turner said. “Where he has struggled a little bit is with his consistency in the passing game. So he's got to be better there.

“And then on the defensive side, how we handle them and their big-play capability will be huge. That is what has been our biggest problem in the past. They can be explosive. They have a receiver that can hurt you in a hurry if you don't know where he's at. I think those are two of the biggest keys of the game.”

Turner was not shy in saying the streak is on their minds -- and that they want it to fade into memory.

“We all know we haven’t beaten them in a long time. It would mean a lot to us to break this streak and be able to stop hearing about it,” he said. “But North Hall is a very good team and presents a lot of challenges on both sides. This will be our first really big test to see how good we are.

“I like the direction we’re headed. We’re finally starting to learn how to win. But we still have a ways to go no matter how it turns out.”