[6] Maryville High School had the longest active football winning streak in America (74–0) until their loss in the 2008 Tennessee 4A State Championship Game.

[8][clarification needed] This was reportedly the longest in Tennessee history, breaking the record of Cleveland High School.

[10] The Rebels captured their 15th TSSAA State Football Title against the Ravenwood Raptors in 2014 coming back from a 28-point deficit in the first quarter.

That loss caused them to have to travel to Kingsport to face the Dobyns Bennett Indians on May 19, the same day and the same time as graduation.

Unfortunately, the scheduling conflict prevented the senior baseball players to walk across the stage with their peers, and the Rebels lost a tough game 5-0 [17] putting them out of the post season.

In 1999, Dr. Jeffrey Whitlow, a local doctor, filed a civil rights complaint against the school board, equating the football games with Ku Klux Klan rallies.

[citation needed] Supporters of the school board defended their position by stating that the flags (most of which were fastened on poles used to make more celebratory noise by banging on bleachers) were a security issue that could cause serious injury.

When assistant principals attempted to suspend students for wearing the flag, a $20 million lawsuit was pressed against the school for denying the right of free speech.

The former president of a North Carolina National Association for the Advancement of Colored People chapter agreed with the Sons of Confederate Veterans's opposition of the ban, saying that the flag should no longer be considered a symbol of racism.