You're familiar with the "Battle of the Bridge" and the "Clash of the Champions" as major high school rivalries. You can now add a Monroe County showdown to that list.

The winner between the Chiefs and Wildcats will claim second place in 5-AA. Included in that automatic playoff berth is the Monroe County Cup presented by The Advocate & Democrat. We, here at the paper, have decided this game is too important not to name, so we have dubbed the annual meeting between these two as the "Thunder in the Valley." 

Without further adieu here is how the Wildcats and Chiefs can win:

Craig Moser's Wildcats comes into this game off a 28-0 beating of Bledsoe County. Eli Arwood has become the back of choice and has used his opportunity well. Arwood carried the Wildcats last week, and can do it again. Sequoyah has struggled against the run at times, and if Sweetwater can control the ball, they stand a good chance to win.

The Wildcats need to get going early and constantly be very effective in the red zone. Sweetwater scored early against Loudon but never made it back inside the 20-yard line. In the road loss to Polk, they were down early before they knew it. A complete and focused effort will be expected as they try to upset the Chiefs on the road.

If Arwood is shut down, I expect to see a lot of Jordan McGaughey. If for some reason the run game struggles, Andrew Barr, Zack Neil, and Nick Wicker will need to secure the win through the air. 

On defense, the Wildcats must stop Garret Dalton and Brett King. Blake Huffman will also be a focal point in the offense that the Wildcats must account for. 

Last year it was Trey Dyer, Forrest McKane and Chris Arp that made big plays to win this game. With McKane still in question with an injury, Sweetwater will plan to shut down an explosive Chiefs offense without the bruising back and defensive end. 

Sequoyah is averaging 36 points a game but the Wildcats are only giving up just over 13 a game. For Sweetwater to win the defense must dominate.

If Sequoyah is going to win for third straight year they'll need to not beat themselves early. Consistently in the three losses, the Chiefs have lost the lead early and not regained it. In last week's loss to Loudon the Chiefs were down 21-0 before the offense woke up. The defense cannot give up big plays and expect to win. Travis Brewer opened up the Sequoyah defense on the first play last week for 62 yards and a score. The Wildcats have plenty of guys that can take the ball to the house at any point.

This game is going to come down to defense for both teams. 2011's contest was close and came down to the final minutes as the Chiefs won 14-6. 

My guess is we will see two teams that are focused and ready for the challenge ahead of them. The winner will recieve the Monroe County Cup presented by The Advocate & Democrat at midfield following the inaugural Thunder in the Valley.