The boys soccer team will play its seventh district game against Marcus at the Marcus Marauder Stadium Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m.
“Marcus is one of our biggest rivals,” fullback Kyle Simpson said. “We’ve always kind of had this head-to-head hatred for each other. We beat them last year when we played them away and took pictures on their ‘M’. It was disrespectful, but it’s the energy that goes into the game from both sides.”
The two teams clashed already this season with the Hawks drawing 1-1. The team hopes to go further and win outright.
“Going into the first time we played them, it was tough, but we had a little upset,” Simpson said. “They’re a very strong team and a strong program. Winning would definitely bring our spirits up. It’s probably one of our most hyped games, especially being the first game of the second half of the season. We’re all going to have pretty high energy.”
Winning this game could decide the district season. With the Hawks being only one win ahead of the three teams below them in the rankings, a win would keep their position in first place for the time being.
“Within Texas, Marcus is viewed as a premier location,” head coach Matthew Zimmerman said. “[They are] one of the top five or 10 recognizable boys teams in this whole state of Texas. And when you’re talking about the sheer size of Texas and the amount of teams, [it’s] pretty incredible that they’re that well-known.”
Zimmerman said he hopes the team can use the high tension between the teams to their favor.
“It can light a fire in you,” Zimmerman said. “Playing with emotion and having that fire is a positive. Then there’s lashing out, brawls, fist fights or a lot of verbal disputes. I think that’s obviously the wrong way to exhibit that kind of emotion, but I don’t think emotion as a whole is bad when it comes to competition in general.”
The team currently has a record of five wins, one loss and one draw. A win for the Hawks could set the tone for not only the district run but for a statewide run as well.
“[The team is] having a lot of success,” Zimmerman said. “[Marcus is] going to be extremely up for this game because we’re in first place and they know they want to be able to tie us. But this game is also going to be huge because if they end up winning, whoever wins this game is going to have the tiebreaker over the other person.”
