Rivalry between SCHS and GCHS Grows With Time
March 4, 2022
Lakers v. Celtics. Yankees v. Red Sox. Duke v. Carolina and Packers v. Bears. What do all of these games have in common? They’re historic rivalries, with extreme hatred, where many players have poured blood, sweat and tears, in blow-out or nail-biter, to help their team compete.
While Scott County vs. Great Crossing in small town Georgetown, Kentucky, might not quite have the prestige of these other rivalries, that does not mean it is any less intense. With the rivalry losses in football, and a win over Scott County already this season in the Toyota Classic, there was no shortage of fans in enemy territory for the last matchup with the Cardinals. We put an emphasis on culture and creating environments that people wanted to be a part of… Scott County has a long and storied tradition. It is fun to have a program with that much tradition as your rival. It makes for exciting basketball. — Austin Haywood, GCHS athletic director
“My expectation for the game was that we would have a full house,” said senior Corbin Willoughby, a prominent member of Great Crossing’s student section The Kettle. “The energy around the school is great on game days, especially since we love beating Scott County and have already done it once this season.” Having a rival just a few miles away has generated increased interest in Great Crossing athletics.
Scott County High School is known for its rich basketball tradition, and being one of the powers at any level in the state of Kentucky. Accomplishing 2 state titles, 5 state runner-ups and 17 total KHSAA Boys’ Sweet Sixteen appearances. Great Crossing High School, however is a new program, trying to write its own history.
“When we opened Great Crossing, we knew we had to build our own tradition,” said Great Crossing assistant principal and athletic director Austin Haywood. “We put an emphasis on culture and creating environments that people wanted to be a part of… Scott County has a long and storied tradition. It is fun to have a program with that much tradition as your rival. It makes for exciting basketball.”
An interesting dynamic added to the game is that senior members of the basketball team (Tyquan Stakelin, Tye Schureman, Carson Walls, and Ethan Payne) all attended Scott County their freshman year before Great Crossing opened the next year. Students were able to choose between staying at SCHS or becoming a Warhawk. “The transition of moving schools to me was easy, because I knew coming here was going to be the best for me,” said Stakelin.
When considering the current freshman class, there’s a lot of optimism within the coaching staff, and fan base. Very talented young players fill the starting line-up, and the rest of the roster as well. The Warhawk nation can expect the rivalry with SCHS to continue to be a big deal and one that gains attention, especially if they are successful. Willoughby said, “I’m very disappointed I won’t be here when all our freshmen become seniors. I think they will have a shot at a state title.”
While there is no way to predict what happens with a rival, one can expect that the one GCHS shares with SCHS will be a topic of discussion for years to come.
