LONGVIEW, Texas — It's rivalry week in East Texas! The Tyler Lions take on the Tyler Legacy Red Raiders and Lobo stadium will be home to one of the most historic rivalries you'll ever see.
"One hundred twelfth time, not much love lost and a lot of respect between the programs," Longview Lobos head coach John King said. "As far as the communities go, you know they want to get after each other pretty good."
It's a clash of titans so historic, it was once a question on jeopardy.
The Marshall Mavericks come into the season with a new head coach, Jack Alvarez, who is no stranger to big games.
“I really enjoy being in a game like this," Coach Alvarez said. "I think its good pressure for kids so that later in the year, no moment is too big for your kids. They took care of those moments in preseason.”
Marshall took care of business week one against Tyler High, and with a new head coach, the team seems to have a sense of vitality again.
What may make this rivalry a tad bit sweeter is that these two coaches have history. Coach Alvarez was Coach King's graduate assistant while playing football at Northwestern State. Since then, they've kept in touch and even coached against each other -- it's respect that's been built over the years.
"When you respect somebody, it's kind of like when you love your siblings," Coach King said. "But when it comes to a one on one basketball game, you're trying to win, right? So I don't think it's any different."
Coach Alvarez keeping that same energy.
"It wouldn't matter if my mom was the head coach of Longview Lobos. I'd be trying to win."
Longview leads the all-time series with 64 wins to Marshall's 42. The teams have tied three times and the matchup has been canceled twice.