PAST

Everyone needs that one opponent, that one person or team that motivates them to do their best. Everyone needs a rival.

The Bears versus the Packers, the Cubs versus the Cardinals, or even Edward versus Jacob. Antioch Community High School and Lakes Community High School are just a few out of the hundreds of high school rivalries that are around the country today.

But before 2004, when District 117 created LCHS, who was ACHS’s rival?

One of the biggest rivals ACHS had in the past was Grant Community High School. When the North Suburban Conference went into play, GCHS won conference championships in multiple sports. There were, however, multiple other nearby schools that never failed to pump up the Sequoits for big games.

“Warren was historically a big rival going back to the [Northwest Suburban Conference] days. Zion was a big draw for football and boys basketball,” ACHS athletic director Steve Schoenfelder said.

Because many of ACHS’s athletic programs in the 1970s and 1980s were very successful, ACHS was able to compete with bigger schools like Warren. With progression of time, schools grew to a larger student capacity and ACHS found itself unable to compete with them any longer.

It was not until 2004 that a sister school was born. ACHS finally had a school, a rival that they could compete with: Lakes.

PRESENT

When it comes to any sports season, one game stands out above the rest: when ACHS plays LCHS.

The gym or stadium are always packed with ACHS’s Cardinal Crazies and LCHS’s Royal Rush filling the stands. Blood pumps through the veins of not only the athletes, but all of the fans. The ultimate prize is at stake: bragging rights.

ACHS boys varsity basketball coach Jim White said, “It’s good stuff and neither side can honestly say ‘it’s just another game on the schedule.’ Regardless of records going into the game, our team goes into the competition with the mindset of doing whatever it takes to win the game.  Games are always competitive and players must balance their emotions to not allow the hype to adversely affect their play.  Some compare it to nerves or anxiety on a big test.  Some levels of this help rise the individual to the task at hand and succeed; however, there exists a fine line where too much hype can cause negative results.”

The hype just doesn’t stop when the athletes play the game. The rivalry is shown through not only the players, but between the two student sections. What makes a really good and healthy rivalry is the safety and respect between the two schools, although that can easily be abused. That is why each rivalry has fan section leaders.

LCHS junior and Royal Rush leader John Ott said, “I love the rivalry we have between our schools. It’s a great way to get more students to come to games and it draws out more fans to cheer on our classmates. I mean, sure, at times the tension between our schools can get pretty heated, but no one is out for blood from either schools and I think the rivalry is very safe. I don’t think we take the rivalry too far. Sometimes it can get a little out of hand with the student fan sections screaming at each other, but that’s what the rivalry is all about.”

This brings up the question, does the rivalry ever go too far? Senior Cardinal Crazy leader Hanna Mihovilovich said, “It doesn’t necessarily go too far, but not in the right direction. We are one district who should come together as a whole on certain occasions, like the Volley for the Cure game, rather than attack each other.”

Coming down to it, the rivalry between District 117’s schools finds itself at a medium between appropriate but still full of tension.

FUTURE

Looking into the future, it is hard to judge the outcomes of rivalries and competitions between ACHS and neighboring schools. One thing is for sure: the Sequoits and the Eagles will never stop being rivals.

ACHS athletic director Steve Schoenfelder said, “I do not believe [the rivalry] will ever die off. It is as intense as it was five years ago.”

What nobody would have ever guessed was that a new rivalry would rise.

As a matter of fact, a big change is going to come into play when a new conference is introduced. The new conference will now include Grayslake North High School and Grayslake Central High School.

Schoenfelder said, “I think the Grayslake games will draw more interest than when they were non-conference games [in the new conference].”

Of course, LCHS will always be the sister school to ACHS. During rivalry games, athletes compete their hardest, fans will cheer their loudest and, evidently, the most tickets will sell. When it comes to rivals, nobody said it has to end at just one. The future could hold many rivalries with new schools where athletes and fans do not take it as “just another game.”

It all comes down to the community. Who will they go out and see compete? Will it always be the ACHS versus LCHS games? Or will the community diverge a little and make a hike to GNHS or GCHS to watch another possible rivalry game play out?