The 2023-2024 football season has begun, which also means that the crosstown rivalries that Madison has with Oakton and Marshall have arrived as well. These rivalries have had a major impact on the atmosphere in the stands as well as on the field for the reason that each school wants to “win the town.”
Madison is a neighboring school to Oakton and Marshall, and many Warhawks know students from the other two schools. Since many students have friends that go to school nearby, everyone wants to come out and support their own school, which increases the tension and student section rivalries between the teams. Players on all three teams also have friends that are on the opposing teams, increasing the overall pressure of the game.
“There is always a little more motivation whenever we play against Marshall or Oakton and the student sections definitely make it a crazier environment which leads to the games being more hype,” starting quarterback Cael Yates (’25) said.
Along with the vibrant student sections, the start of the football season also entails the beginning of social media brawls, where all three schools post on their own “Barstool” Instagram accounts warning the opposing team about what’s to come Friday night. Students wait all week to see a collection of funny photos and pictures of students they’re about to play with and post them on mock “barstool” accounts, getting their own students enthusiastic and ready for game day.
On Sept. 14 the Warhawks beat the Marshall Statesmen 27-7 at Marshall and leading up to the game, the account barstoolsatesmen posted, “#huntingszn,” implying that the Statesmen wanted to “hunt” the warhawks.
Any students that have attended these football games against Madison’s crosstown rivals know that it feels good to win after the other teams’ barstool post about Madison. Due to Madison’s undefeated start to the season, many more students have attended the games to watch the football team play the rivals to win the crosstown rivalry.
“We want to be the premier team in the area and every time we win against both Marshall and Oakton it accomplishes winning out in our area,” Yates said, highlighting the importance of coming out on top.
On Oct. 27 the Warhawks will be playing Oakton at home, and due to the Cougars being our rivals, the atmosphere in the student section is going to be exhilarating and enhance the environment for the players. Previous scores against the Cougars have been blowouts with Madison winning 56-7 and 46-0 the previous two years.
“I’m always really excited to see my Oakton friends at the game,” Sarah Biddick (‘25) said. “The rivalry is big so it creates an unmatched environment in the student sections. There is something so special and unique about highschool football, and I can’t wait to play Oakton.”