What better way to end the first spirit week of the school year with the most anticipated football game, and perhaps school event, of the year? The annual “Battle of the Bell” is back, and tensions continue to rise as the Chapin and Mid Carolina football teams prepare for their 58th meeting on the gridiron.

The Chapin- Mid Carolina football rivalry is the longest running football rivalry in the state, and students and players alike are anticipating this game just as much as they were in 1961, when Chapin won the first ever match-up between the two with a score of 13-7. Today Chapin holds a 40-17 all-time record against the Rebels, but no one would be able to tell how one-sided the rivalry has historically been by the football teams’ and the student bodies’ attitudes towards one another. If anything, Chapin’s historical dominance in the series has fans of Mid Carolina disliking Chapin more and more as they yearn for the sweet taste of victory. It truly is hard to come by any high school rivalry as intense as this one.

A few years ago a new flare was added to a game already rich in tradition. The trophy for this match-up was introduced in 2012, representing the bell on the train that connected the small, developing towns of Chapin and Prosperity long ago. With the addition of the trophy, awarded annually to the victor, the rivalry was renamed the “Battle of the Bell”. Mid Carolina’s 2012 victory to claim the first “Battle of the Bell” trophy is also their most recent win in the series, as the bell was relocated to Chapin after the 2013 game and remains there today as the Eagles were able to defend the title last year.

Chapin will have home field advantage for the game this Friday, hoping to build on their 8-game win streak at home against Mid Carolina. This will be the second game for the Eagles, coming off of a 49-0 stomping of Columbia last week. Mid Carolina looks to start their season off on a high note with a win over their arch-rival. Expect this game to be as heated as ever as these two rivals battle it out for the bell and bragging rights.