List of high school football rivalries (100 years+)

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This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy certain standards for completeness.
Revisions and sourced additions are welcome.

High school football rivalries in the United States more than one hundred years old:

For a list of other long-standing rivalries see: List of high school football rivalries (less than 100 years old)
Raiders v Rockets (2005) Hunnewell Field in Wellesley
Raiders v Rockets (2005) Hunnewell Field in Wellesley
City v Poly (November, 2006) M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Md.
City v Poly (November, 2006) M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Md.
City v Poly (November, 2007) M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Md.
City v Poly (November, 2007) M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Md.
Series Leader Series Rival Series Record Series Began Notes References
Norwich Free Academy (Norwich, Connecticut) New London High School (New London, Connecticut) 1875 Annual Thanksgiving football game. The oldest high school football rivalry in the country, meeting for the 145th time in 2006.[citation needed]
Phillips Academy (Andover, MA) Phillips Exeter Academy (Exeter, NH) 67-49-10 1878 Annual football game. This is one of the oldest football rivalries in the nation.[citation needed]
Wellesley High School (Wellesley, MA) Needham High School (Needham, MA) 58-52-9 1882 Annual Thanksgiving Day game. First played Thanksgiving morning 1882 at Morton Field in Needham. The oldest public high school rivalry.[citation needed]
Noble and Greenough School (Dedham, MA) Milton Academy (Milton, MA) 1886 Annual football game. One of the oldest continual football rivalries in the nation. [1]
St. Mark's School (Southborough, Massachusetts) Groton School (Groton, Massachusetts) 1886 Annual football game. St. Mark's-Groton Rivalry
Boston Latin School (Boston, Massachusetts) English High School (Boston, Massachusetts) 72-36-13 1887 Annual Thanksgiving football game. Oldest continuous high school football rivalry in the U.S. [2][2][3]
Lawrenceville School (Lawrenceville, New Jersey) The Hill School (Pottstown, Pennsylvania) 59-42-5 1887 Annual football game. One of the oldest continuous football rivalries in the nation. [4]
Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (Baltimore, MD) Baltimore City College (Baltimore, MD) 58-54-6 1889 The City-Poly game is now played at M&T Bank Stadium, normally home to the Baltimore Ravens, first Saturday in November after more than 75 years on Thanskgiving Day. Oldest continuous football rivalry in Maryland. City has won the last three games. [5]
Hyde Park Career Academy (Chicago, Illinois) Englewood Technical Prep Academy (Chicago, Illinois) 56-46-6 1889 Known as the "The Greatest High School Football Rivalry in Illinois", Hyde Park and Englewood's first game took place in 1889. The winner of the annual game is awarded the Little Brown Shield, also known as The Lettermen Shield. [6]
The Haverford School (Haverford, PA) Episcopal Academy (Merion, PA) 52-41-2 1889 Annual EA Day or Episcopal-Haverford Day football game.
Medford High School (Medford, MA) Malden High School (Malden, MA) 55-54-2 1889 Annual Thanksgiving Day game.
Beverly High School (Beverly, Massachusetts) Salem High School (Salem, Massachusetts) 52-49-7 1891 Annual Thanksgiving football game.
Newburyport High School (Newburyport, Massachusetts) Amesbury High School (Amesbury, Massachusetts) 44-33-6 1891 Annual Thanksgiving football game. Rivalry includes several unsanctioned games between 1891 and 1914.
Louisville Male High School (Louisville, Kentucky) DuPont Manual Magnet High School (Louisville, Kentucky) 79-40-6 1892 Annual football game. Dubbed the "Old Rivalry" it is the oldest high school rivalry in Kentucky and the oldest rivalry west of the Appalachian Mountains. Up until 1982, the game was played on Thanksgiving Day at Cardinal Stadium at the Kentucky Exposition Center. The series has since then rotated between home fields between each school. As of November 2, 2007, the rivalry game will be played at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. The rivalry item is The Barrel. [7]
Central High School (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Northeast High School (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) 49–46–9 1892 Annual Thanksgiving game. The Philadelphia area's most recognized Thanksgiving football tradition, the schools play each year for the wooden horse trophy. [8]
Cony High School (Augusta, Maine) Gardiner High School (Gardiner, Maine) 65-55-10 1892 Cony and Gardiner no longer play in the same division, as a result, the teams play after the regular and post-season has concluded for each team. In 2007 the game was played on the third latest date ever, as Gardiner had won the Class B state title. Cony upset Gardiner in 2007 in the 130th meeting in 115 continuous years.
Bradford Area High School (Bradford, Pennsylvania) Olean High School (Olean, New York) 1893 The second-oldest interstate high school football rivalry in the country. [9]
B.M.C. Durfee High School (Fall River, Massachusetts) New Bedford High School (New Bedford, Massachusetts) 1893 Annual Thanksgiving football game. The oldest high school football rivalry in South Coast New England.
Gonzaga College High School (Washington, D.C.) St. John's College High School (Washington, D.C.) 1893 Annual Thanksgiving football game. The rivalry is considered the oldest between two Catholic High Schools in the U.S.
St. Johnsbury Academy (St. Johnsbury, Vermont) Lyndon Institute (Lyndon, Vermont) 57-40-6 1894 Annual football game. Played on the last Saturday of the regular season for Vermont High School football. The Vermont state legislature passed a resolution commemorating the 100th meeting between the schools in football and 110 years of the rivalry tradition in 2004. [10][11]
Marinette High School (Marinette, WI) Menominee High School (Menominee, MI) 49-44-7 1894 The oldest interstate rivalry between two public high schools (third overall), Menominee and Marinette are "twin towns" separated by less than a mile of water and a bridge, making the rivalry all the more intense. [9]
Massillon Washington High School (Massillon, OH) Canton McKinley High School (Canton, OH) 62-49-5 1894 Annual. The last game of the regular season at either Paul Brown Stadium in Massillon, or Fawcett Stadium, next to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, in Canton. This rivalry was featured in Go Tigers!, a documentary on the Massillon football program. This game gets listed on Vegas parlay sheets, and has also been featured in Sports Illustrated and Nike's Brisco advertising campaign. [2][3][12]
Millville Senior High School (Millville, NJ) Vineland Senior High School South/Vineland Senior High School North (Vineland, NJ) 55-60-19 1894 Annual Thanksgiving football game, this rivalry is the 12th-oldest in the United States. In terms of games (136), it is the fourth-longest in the nation's history. Millville has dominated recently, winning 13 of the last 14 games. [1] [2]
Leominster High School (Leominster, Massachusetts) Fitchburg High School (Fitchburg, Massachusetts) 58-58-9 (record is in dispute) 1894 Annual Thanksgiving football game. "The Rivalry", also known by locals as the Turkey Bowl, met for the 102nd Thanksgiving and the 124th time overall in 2007.
Newton North High School (Newton, MA) Brookline High School (Brookline, MA) 55-52-6 1894 Annual Thanksgiving football game.
Sandusky High School (Sandusky, OH) Fremont Ross High School (Fremont, OH) 1895 Annual battle between the Sandusky Blue Streaks and the Ross Little Giants in the second oldest rivalry in Ohio.
Falmouth High School (Falmouth, MA) Barnstable High School (Barnstable, MA) 56-56-8 1895 Annual football game. Traditionally played on Thanksgiving Day, series played on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Barnstable has a 39-38-4 edge in Thanksgiving games. [13]
Dover High School (Dover, Ohio) New Philadelphia High School 47-47-9 1896 Annual, last Friday in October. One of the oldest rivalries in the state. These two teams recently had their 100th meeting game in 2004, which coincidentally found rivalry's record tied at 45-45-9.
Adrian High School (Adrian, Michigan) Monroe High School (Monroe, Michigan) 1896 Annual game. Usually the last game of the season.
Lower Merion High School (Ardmore, Pennsylvania) Radnor High School (Radnor, Pennsylvania) 1897 Annual football game; played continuously since inception. Radnor High School grants the students of the school a half-day on the next school day if the school beats Lower Merion. However, the students of Lower Merion do not enjoy any similar reward. As of the 2006 matchup, Radnor has won the last seven games running.
East Orange High School (East Orange, NJ) Barringer High School (Newark, NJ) 1897 Annual football game. Traditionally played on Thanksgiving Day. John Amos played in series, Dionne Warwick was a cheerleader in 1957. [14]
Piqua High School (Piqua, Ohio) Troy High School (Troy, Ohio) 61-58-6 1899 Annual football game. Has been played continuously since 1911 and after over 123 meetings, the series has remained remarkably close. Michael Nishimura was the one of the most record setting players of Troy High School History while Brandon Saine is a new comer to college football now playing for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Westfield High School (Westfield, New Jersey) Plainfield High School (Plainfield, New Jersey) 51-43-7 1900 Annual Thanksgiving football game. Celebrated 100th game in 2005. (Plainfield won 9-0). Westfield won 2006 game 17-7.
Ansonia High School (Ansonia, Connecticut) Naugatuck High School (Naugatuck, Connecticut) 1900 Annual Thanksgiving football game. Game regularly draws crowds of up to 10,000.
Webster Groves High School (Webster Groves, Missouri) Kirkwood High School (Kirkwood, Missouri) 59-43-5 1901 Although games were likely played earlier, 1901 is the first documented game. The rivalry became a Thanksgiving Day game in 1907. The Turkey Day Game is the oldest football rivalry and current Thanksgiving Day game west of the Mississippi River with the winners being awarded the Frisco Bell, donated by the Frisco Railroad Company in 1952. [15]
Woodberry Forest School (Woodberry Forest, VA) Episcopal High School (Alexandria, VA) 51-47-8 1901 Annual football game. This is the second longest consecutive high school rivalry in the South. [16]
The Peddie School (Hightstown, NJ) Blair Academy (Blairstown, NJ) 48-50-5 1902 One of the oldest rivalries in New Jersey, has met every year since 1902, with the exception of one year due to a polio outbreak. The rivalry incorporates all fall varsity sports with the Kelley-Potter Cup.
Benedictine Military School (Savannah, GA) Savannah High School (Savannah, GA) 51-47-8 1902 The oldest high school football rivalry in the state of Georgia; it used to be played on Thanksgiving Day before 1960.
Marlborough High School (Marlborough, MA) Hudson High School (Hudson, MA) 60-40-4 1904 Annual Thanksgiving football game. It is one of the oldest rivalries in Central Mass. The games are played at either the Morgan Bowl in Hudson or Kelleher Field in Marlborough. The two met in 2007, where Marlborough came out on top, 42-28.
Shelton High School (Shelton, Connecticut) Derby High School (Derby, Connecticut) 52-42-7 1904 Annual Thanksgiving football game. It draws upwards of 10,000 people. The Derby/Shelton Rotary Club donates a competitive trophy that the winner of the game possesses for a year.
Green Bay East High School (Green Bay, Wisconsin) Green Bay West High School (Green Bay, Wisconsin) 51-39-3 1905 One of the oldest rivalries in the state of Wisconsin. First unofficial game took place in 1895. Early games occasionally had more fans than games played by the Green Bay Packers, who used to play at City Stadium. Notable players include Curly Lambeau, Arnie Herber, and Jim Crowley.Curly Lambeau also coached the Green Bay East football team (1919-1921).
Mount Carmel High School (Chicago, Illinois) St. Rita of Cascia High School (Chicago, Illinois) 56-27-0 1905 One of the oldest rivalries in the Chicago Catholic League. Games generally draw crowds of close to 10,000. Both schools have graduated a number of notable NFL players including Dennis Lick and Donavan McNabb. [17]
Easton Area High School (Easton, Pennsylvania) Phillipsburg High School (Phillipsburg, New Jersey) 56-40-5 1906 Annual Thanksgiving football game. Game draws crowds sometimes exceeding 20,000 fans. The two cities are located in separate states, separated by a bridge that crosses the Delaware River. Nationally televised on ESPN in 1988, ESPN2 in 2006. [2][18]
Sherman High School (Sherman, Texas) Denison High School (Denison, Texas) 59-34-6 1906 The annual "Battle of the Ax" is the oldest continual high school football rivalry in the state of Texas. Since 1912, there have only been five years in which the game was not played, three of which were during World War I. 1949 was the first year in which the Ax was awarded to the winner of the game. [19][20]

Half Hollow Hills West vs. Sayville High School

The Swampscott/Marblehead (MA) rivalry will soon reach 100 year as they play in their 100th meeting in the fall of 2008.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Milton Dictionary. Milton Academy. Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
  2. ^ a b c d Tennis, Mark (2005-08-23). High School Football's Top 10 Rivalries. Student Sports. Retrieved on 2007-10-30.
  3. ^ a b Greenberg, Steve. "Fall in love again", The Sporting News, 2005-09-23. Retrieved on 2007-10-30. 
  4. ^ Ross, Rosemarie. "Hill ends season with key victory", Mercury (Pennsylvania), November 13, 2005. Accessed October 31, 2007. "In the game that annually means the most to them, it was near total Blues dominance as visiting Hill routed arch rival Lawrenceville, 41-18, Saturday to take home the silver trophy bowl for the second straight year.This was their 103rd showdown in a rivalry that started in 1887."
  5. ^ Patterson, Ted (2000). Football in Baltimore: History and Memorabilia. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 7. 
  6. ^ Pruter, Robert. The Greatest High School Football Rivalry in Illinois. Illinois High School Association. Retrieved on 2007-10-30.
  7. ^ Frakes, Jason. "Crimsons take out No. 5 Bulldogs", The Courier-Journal, November 2, 2007. Accessed November 3, 2007.
  8. ^ The Wooden Horse. Northeast High School (2004-02-09). Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
  9. ^ a b Kimmerly, Geoff (2007-10-12). M&M rivalry conjures sweet memories. HighSchool Rivals.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
  10. ^ Academy vs. LI Football Rivalry. St. Johnsbury Academy. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
  11. ^ Senate concurrent resolution commemorating the 100th football game between Lyndon Institute and St. Johnsbury Academy. Vermont General Assembly (2004). Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
  12. ^ Greatest HS Football Rivalries. Versus. Retrieved on 2007-10-30.
  13. ^ Thanksgiving pigskin joy, disappointment. CapeCodTimes.com (2007-11-23). Retrieved on 2007-11-23.
  14. ^ "Old Rivalry Returns to a Big Welcome", New York Times, 1988-11-25. Retrieved on 2007-10-30. 
  15. ^ Greene, Shawn Buchanan (2007). Turkey Day Game Centennnial. Kirkwood, MO: G. Bradley Publishing, Inc., 212. 
  16. ^ Morones, Mike. "'THE GAME': HIGH NOON For 107 years, two rival high-school football teams have squared off with one overriding goal: Sweet victory", The Free Lance-Star, 2007-12-01. Retrieved on 2008-02-18. 
  17. ^ Tucker, Steve. "Mount Carmel vs St. Rita series history", Chicago Sun-Times, 2007-09-14. Retrieved on 2007-10-31. 
  18. ^ Brady, Erik. "Every year fields the game of the century", USA Today, 2006-11-23. Retrieved on 2007-10-30. 
  19. ^ Sayles, Damon. "Ax facts", The Dallas Morning News, 2004-10-15. Retrieved on 2007-10-30. "Jesse Jones, a bank president and former resident of Sherman, wanted Lewisville and Marcus to have a rivalry similar to the one between Sherman and Denison, which originated in 1912. That game also is dubbed the Battle of the Ax." 
  20. ^ SHS Battle of the Ax. Sherman Independent School District. Retrieved on 2007-10-31.