Long before the great rivalries of the NFL, a high school football rivalry found its roots in a small steel worker’s town at the base of the Rocky
Mountains. Pueblo, Colorado will host this year’s 116th game between the Central High School Wildcats and the Centennial High School Bulldogs in what has become the oldest prep football rivalry West of the Mississippi.
The two schools met in their first clash in 1892 and with each generation the rivalry– and bragging rights– has grown. In 1950, the victor gained more than just bragging rights when an old train bell from the town’s Colorado Steel & Iron Company was donated to the victor. Each year that bell makes its home in the school– and colors– of the winning team.
Bell Week– the week leading up to the historic clash– hosts many events for the schools and the town including spirit days, assemblies, and rallies. The celebrations are not limited to the high school campuses as the Bell is toured through the halls of elementary schools and nursing homes alike. Those in the nursing homes reminisce about their days fighting fo the Bell and the school-age children dream of the day they will have their turn to capture the covted Bell. 
All of the celebrations culminate under the Friday Night Lights where a sell out crowd of 15,000 painted in the schools’ colors of red vs blue will once again watch the Cats and Dogs battle it out at Dutch Clark Stadium. Central High School brags more wins through the centuries with 56 wins to the 50 held by Centennial High School (nine ties).
The bell spent the last year housed by the Central Wildcats after they broke the Bulldogs’ five-year winning streak. In the fashion of a true rivalry, the bell was recaptured this year by the stunning 31-7 victory of the Centennial Bulldogs.
The Bell will “Ring Red” for another year and all the bragging rights that come with it. Next year, both High Schools will play meet again before the sell out crowd under the Friday night lights of Dutch Clark Stadium. The Wildcats will have one thing on their mind– to bring the bell home. The rivalry represents more than bragging rights and definitely more than a football game. The Bell Game is a constant in an ever-changing world and is steeped in rich tradition felt through schools, families, and a town that has seen so much of its own change over the centuries.
Photos Courtesy of Centennialight
