Take A Look Inside One Of The Biggest High School Rivalries In The Nation
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Politics and Activism

Take A Look Inside One Of The Biggest High School Rivalries In The Nation

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Take A Look Inside One Of The Biggest High School Rivalries In The Nation
Lehigh Valley Live

“All hail alma mater, the pride of our hearts, Easton High School, our high school so dear. We pledge to your welfare the strength of our lives, now and ever as year passes year.” Seniors at Easton Area High School rejoiced from the top of their lungs because yet another year has passed where the Red Rovers defeated the Phillipsburg Stateliners.

For 109 consecutive years the two teams have carried a grudge against one another, making this one of the longest remaining high school rivalries in the nation. People meet on the hill, with their blankets packed and thermoses tucked in a bag ready for an unnerving few hours. Lafayette College’s football field becomes a battleground; there are cars screeching and police ready for fights over the championship. In the student section, girls have on war paint, and the stolen banner from Phillipsburg’s clock tower emerges from the crowd of Easton students as profanity escapes their lips and travels to the other side.

Morning dew coats the turf where cleats of past football legends sprinted across the field to get just one more first down. Now as those players reminisce, new feet step onto the field marking history for the next 30 years. Students and Easton residents alike are built on this pride -- after all, “tradition lives here.”

As a member of the community, I looked forward to my senior year because nothing could compare to our spirit week and the amount of pride students felt in high school. Turkey Week starts with reversed roles as the girl’s powderpuff football game gets the crowd riled up the Monday before Thanksgiving. It’s one thing to sit from the sidelines and cheer for your team, but it’s more fulfilling to run the football into an end zone as the student section chants your name from the stands. The final score isn’t the only part of the powderpuff to get into the papers, though. Senior guys sign up to participate in the halftime show and practice their dance routine and different choreography techniques several weeks in advance.

The day after the powderpuff game, wood collecting begins for seniors; they get out of classes for the day to build “the biggest bonfire to date.” Rows of students pass large wooden pallets from a tractor-trailer, down the assembly line, and up to a pair of hands that fits these pieces into the puzzle. After the foundation is built it’s all about height and topping the woodpile with a faux cat, the Stateliner’s mascot, and a doghouse each year. Underclassmen watch hard work pay off from the windows in between classes.

Four years ago, I learned some of the best attributes that stick with me to this day, like dedication. I was a senior at Easton Area High School wearing at least three layers of clothing and a raincoat on top to stay dry during wood collecting. That same Tuesday night, the Easton Band hosted a truce between the two rivaling schools and held a party in honor of the yearly festivities. Although there wasn’t much integrating amongst the two schools, it was still a successful night considering no fights broke out.

The main event on Tuesday night still hadn’t occurred; back at home, seniors prepared for the woodpile sleep out to defend our tradition. Tents were hauled in the back of trucks along with steel toe work boots and coolers filled with food and drinks. With the extreme weather conditions, my senior year easily became one of the toughest sleep outs to endure. Wind and rain smacked students in the face, water soaked through dozens of gloves and hand warmers were now useless, not to mention the amount of flooded tents and unstable ground. In any effort to stay warm, students built small fires alongside the two- to three-story-high woodpile and roasted hotdogs. I had no use for my tent despite it being one of the only dry tents at the sleep out. I was a tent hopper and spent most of my time reminiscing with other friends about the upcoming end of high school. As most students do, we spoke about what to do if Phillipsburg students showed up to ransack the sleep out and ruin our bonfire because that’s tradition. Mischief Night doesn’t compare to the things seniors do to ruin each other’s Turkey Week. We send out scouts to Phillipsburg and tear apart their spirit, and every year they try to ruin the bonfire.

The next morning, I drove home and only brought back a pillow and blanket in hopes of fitting in a nap during class because I hadn’t slept for 24 hours at this point. Needless to say, none of the seniors had time to sleep, and I still had to make it through playing my instrument during the pep rally Wednesday afternoon. Principal Koch busted through the doors holding an arrow in his hand. This wasn’t the first year Phillipsburg tried to light the bonfire early with a flaming arrow. Easton students began throwing fits, and jumping out of their seats. The principals directed our anger toward one common enemy, and we knew Thanksgiving morning would settle the score on the hill.

Wednesday night, I marched the streets of Easton with the band and to the bonfire. This was a historical ceremony for everyone a part of the Easton community. Students clustered with their friends and walked around spending time with one another. Turkey Week is a time to bring the community together and remind us of what we are grateful for. That night, I was thankful my boots were tied so tight that I didn’t lose them in the mud. This night really brought the community together as people helped those who got stuck and lost their shoes in the mud.

Thanksgiving morning is the most important day of the year for any Easton or Phillipsburg resident. Our football team fights for our town’s honor and pride. In the past, ESPN has even nationally televised the high school rivalry. In 1993, the game ended in a tie, but Gatorade couldn’t see a rivalry so large end this way. So in 2009, they sponsored the Replay Game and brought back all the band members, cheerleaders, and football players to play for one last time. That year I watched my sister cheer from the sidelines and her friends out on the field giving everything they could to bring home a win. I was born into this tradition and I was raised a red rover from day one.

My senior year, the band rode through the town in the busses after the game back toward the high school. We took the long way home that year because it was tradition to do victory laps throughout town. Students were screaming out the windows, cars beeped their horns in excitement, and townies hollered, “We are the champions.” The turkey tasted a little better that year.

As I go back home for Thanksgiving break, it’s all different now. The pride and tradition is still there, but I don’t get to be a part of that week anymore. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience; kids that moved away for some time made sure to come back to Easton for their senior year.

I can go to the powderpuff game and cheer on the girls, but I’m not on the field anymore running after the ball. Wood collecting is over and all I can do is read the articles about it, and drive past the school to see these kids build “the biggest bonfire yet.” It’s not all over, though, because regardless of how old you are, everyone meets at the bonfire Wednesday night.

Even though alumni are still a part of the bonfire tradition, it will never be the same. It’s one thing to build the woodpile and watch people gawk and feel pride in your hard work, but it’s another to sit there and appreciate someone else’s time to be a senior. Seeing old friends don’t go as planned either. We don’t talk about how to protect the bonfire anymore, instead it’s the same typical questions: How’s school? What’s going on in your life? How have you been? And so on. Once senior year is over, the people you bonded with over Turkey Week become strangers.

Although some friendships don’t last, one thing remains constant every year. The sense of pride that comes with being an Easton Red Rover, and knowing you were once a part of something many people will never understand. Even if you lose touch with people, this week reminds us that we all share this same tradition, and it can really bring out the best in others.
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