There are times when even heated rivalries must take a back seat to doing simply what's right.
After the tri-state area was hit by the deadly outbreak of tornadoes on April 27, high school athletes made themselves readily available to help with the cleanup projects in their areas.
Teenagers from Bradley and Hamilton counties in Tennessee to Jackson County, Ala., and throughout the northwest Georgia region took time away from their athletic season to help clear brush and debris. They later helped return some sense of normalcy, even if only for a couple of hours each day, by returning to the playing fields.
Today, three Catoosa County prep football teams will put aside their rivalry to hold a combined scrimmage at Heritage High, with all proceeds going to help Ringgold High School and Ringgold Middle School replace lost equipment and stadium damage. The three intrasquad scrimmages begin at 10:30 a.m. with Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe, followed at noon by Heritage and at 1:30 with Ringgold.
Admission is $5 and parking is $2, and all the money will go to the Ringgold athletic relief fund.
"This is what we try to teach our kids through sports every day: It's about life lessons and overcoming obstacles," LFO coach Todd Windham said. "Hopefully this can be something good that can come out of the tragedy this area went through. This whole area has come together in so many other ways. This is just another example of neighbors working together to help each other out."
As the crow flies, Ringgold and Heritage high schools are only about six miles apart, and that proximity has helped fuel a healthy rivalry in the short time since Heritage was built. But that rivalry has been put on hold as the administration at the new school has worked with Ringgold to share not only the building to finish out the school year, but also the athletic fields.
Ringgold's baseball team played out its home schedule at Heritage, and the Tigers' football team has worked throughout the spring on the Generals' practice field.
"The kids have been great on both sides," Heritage coach Tim James said. "They've all put the rivalry aside and are focusing on what's important and that's helping their fellow man. Getting together and using all the money from these scrimmages to help Ringgold was really a no-brainer. It's just the right thing to do, so you really don't even give it a second thought.
"We play each other in week five this season at our place, and I would say we'll still want to beat each other by then, because it's your crosstown neighbor and your rival. But the edge is off the rivalry right now, and we're all just trying to help each other get through this and rebuild after a really tragic situation."