The trash talking had carried on for months in the halls of the McCallie Middle School, ever since seventh grader Mikhail Imran had been chosen “First Chair” in the East Tennessee Junior Orchestra in late November.

Every time Imran would pass MS principal Scotty Jones in the hall, and knowing how gifted his principal was on the sax, he’d say to Jones, “You don’t know your scales.” Or “You can’t beat me in a saxophone duel.” Or “You’re going down.”

Said Jones, “It got to be almost every day. He was really confident. Finally, I agreed to his challenge.”

It came in the Middle School Forum on February 5, during MS Chapel. The two would compete in three categories: Major Scales, Chromatic Scales, and a song of each contestant’s choosing. The middle school student body and faculty would applaud each round, the louder applause signaling the winner of that round.

After the two scales exercises, despite a pointed verbal jab by Imran during the playing of the Major Scales _ “You missed a note,” he said of Jones’ effort _ the two appeared tied.

So it would come down to how well they played their songs. Imran chose the George Michael hit “Careless Whisper.” Jones opted for the more complicated, lesser known “Carnaval de Venise.” McCallie Choir Director James Harr accompanied each competitor on the piano.

The initial applause meter after the songs seemed to signal a tie. But a second round of applause definitely favored Imran, his fellow middle school students apparently all in on bringing down their principal.

Said a gracious Jones after the second round of applause, “I accept my defeat.”

Offered Imran as he broke into a grin as wide as the Middle School is long, “It’s all fun and games. But now I can keep trash talking.”

As the chapel ended and the students headed off to afternoon classes, Jones let out a deep sigh and briefly shook his head. “This chapel (period) was a lesson in humility,” he said.