CHESAPEAKE, VA (WTKR)- King's Fork head coach Anthony Joffrion and Oscar Smith defensive coordinator Jahvoni Simmons both played for Chris Scott at Ocean Lakes High School. Scott is now the head coach at Oscar Smith. The two former teammates later joined Scott's coaching staff before eventually landing on opposite sidelines — a reality that comes into full focus once a year when their teams collide.
"They've seen me grow up, I've seen some of them grow up so it's a real family atmosphere," Joffrion noted. "But you know how it is when families get together — sometimes it's going to be a clash."
The connection runs deep. Joffrion credits Scott as a formative influence from his playing days.
"The head coach was my high school coach," he recalled. "When I was at Ocean Lakes, he was hard-nosed."
Simmons said the timeline of their shared history is layered.
"Joffrion's a little bit older than me so I didn't actually get to play with him. He played with coach Lafonte Thourogood," the Tiger assistant pointed out. "They graduated before I got there, but we actually coached over here one year together."
For Joffrion, those shared experiences make the rivalry feel unlike any other on the schedule.
"He was actually a younger guy when I was in high school," the head Bulldog said. "He came to Ocean Lakes after I graduated and I got to coach with him for a season so seeing all those guys, it's priceless because we all really know each other."
But familiarity does not translate to leniency. Both coaches were quick to dismiss any notion of a soft spot.
"No, I definitely don't have a soft spot and if you ask Chris Scott, would he have a soft spot for me, he would say 'absolutely not' as well," Joffrion smiled.
Simmons echoed that sentiment — and raised the stakes.
"No, not at all, of course not. No soft spot. It makes you want to beat them even more just because you get bragging rights in that cross-town rivalry and things like that."
On the field, the chess match shapes up as Joffrion calling plays as offensive coordinator against Simmons running the Oscar Smith defense.
"I know that Joffrion's going to have some things up his sleeve for us," predicted Simmons. "We're going to have some things up our sleeve for them. It's just going to be a good chess match. He's calling the plays over there as OC, I'm the defensive coordinator so it's a little friendly match."
King's Fork enters the game at 2-0, while Oscar Smith is coming off a nail-biting loss to Indian River and sits at 1-1-1 on the year. Players on both sides understand what is at stake.
King's Fork's Myles Satchell said execution will be the difference.
"We've got to execute," the senior stated. "No missed assignments, no 'my bads' or none of that. We've got to do everything, execute perfectly."
Oscar Smith's Kymonte Bynum said stopping the run is the key to a Tigers victory.
"It's really stop the run," the defensive back noted. "They don't really run a lot of crazy passes. They run a lot of slants. I feel like we'll be good on the back end this game. All we've got to do is stop the run and we'll be perfectly fine."
Joffrion said his players have earned the moment.
"I just want them to go out there and execute," the head coach said. "They deserve it. It's going to be a big stage, I'm pretty sure it's going to be sold out, it's going to be a great game-day environment and they deserve to get a win in that environment."
For Simmons, a win would carry weight well beyond the rivalry.
"It would mean everything to us," Simmons added. "Get back in that win column, get this nasty taste out of our mouth, but understand that when these boys put in the work and focus on the fine details in everything that they do that the result is going to be the result."
Oscar Smith and King's Fork kick off Friday night at 7 p.m. on the Tigers' home field.
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