JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It is time for the River City Rumble.
JU and UNF are ready to renew their annual rivalry Saturday. The Dolphins have gotten off to a strong start to the season (10-6, 2-0 in the Atlantic Sun Conference). UNF has struggled to get going this year, starting out 4-12 and 0-3 conference play.
But there’s no denying how big this game always is.
“I think it is the second or third best sporting event in the city,” said Ospreys head coach Matthew Driscoll.
Both teams understand just how important Saturday is but they are trying to approach it like any other game.
“A win is a win anytime. Everyone wants to win all the time, it doesn’t matter who it is we just want to get a win and keep that ball rolling,” said UNF’s Carter Hendrickson.
“Everyone is like, River City Rumble is a big thing. Basically you just have to go in like it is another game I don’t want to try and treat it like a championship,” said JU’s Kevion Nolan. “I know it is the bragging rights for the city or whatever but you just go one game at a time and at the end of the day we are just trying to be A-Sun champions.”
JU holds a 19-18 lead in the rivalry but this will be Dolphins coach Jordan Mincy’s first experience with the game. He said that Ospreys Coach Matthew Driscoll helped to educate him about the rivalry when he accepted the job at JU.
“My first week here, Coach Driscoll, I’m a huge fan of him, he took me out to breakfast,” Mincy said. “He talked to me a little bit about the A-Sun.”
Added Driscoll: “I think being a human being is really important. Of course, I’ll dislike him on Saturday, not him in particular, but his institution. And on those days, it is what it is. But on other days, I want to be a human being and help as best I can.”