BY HUNTER DONELSON

A rivalry that spans over 60 years between the Truman Patriots and William Chrisman Bears has been ingrained into nearly 100,000 students. In Missouri’s fourth largest city, you either bleed red, white, and blue or gold and navy. Not only is Truman looking for revenge from the last three seasons, this will be the first Wagon Wheel game to ever be hosted by the school. Expect the student section,  Freedom Kingdom, to reach new levels of derangement. 

“We’ll have a huge turnout for this game just because it’s the rivalry game and this is the best chance we’ve had in the last four years to win the Wagon Wheel, it will be insane,” said TruCrew President Vanessa Garcia. 

The 40-9 win over St.Joseph Central last week was Truman’s first win in nearly two seasons and they look to keep that same energy coming into the most highly anticipated game of the year. With a game like this, preparation and focus reach their peak despite the lost day of practice due to re-scheduling. 

 “We all want to win this really bad so we’re mentally focused more when running through plays, watching film, etc. It’s a whole day of preparation that we’ll be missing but we’re ready. We could barely wait until Friday night so we’re ready to go tonight,” said quarterback Carter Brown. 

The game last season against the Bears ended in a 32-point blowout, that would become the third straight season Chrisman defeated Truman by 20+ points. For almost a calendar year, that loss has sat on the back burner and it’s finally time for the Patriots to regain the Wagon Wheel.