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The first games of the 2024 high school football season are less than a week away, which means soon we'll be immersed in the pageantry of the boys of fall -- the bands, cheerleaders, student section themes, Friday night lights...and the rivalries that make high school sports, especially football, so memorable.

WisSports.net has been compiling information on the state's most-played high school football rivalries for nearly a decade, establishing the most robust database in Wisconsin.

Many of those longtime rivalries will be rekindled this season, while some will not be contested due to conference changes, adjustments to schedules, or even moves of some teams to 8-player football.

Highlighting this year's rivalry schedule are three matchups that will be contested for the 100th time.

Neenah and Menasha are connected geographically and in the minds of many around the state, and while they are technically no longer conference opponents in the Fox Valley Association, the neighboring communities have kept the rivalry going via non-league games. That continues in 2024, as the Bluejays and Rockets will meet up in Week 2 at Neenah. It marks the 100th playing of this game that dates back to the initial matchup in 1896. Neenah leads the series 54-40-5, including a 40-0 shutout of Menasha in last year's matchup.

Week 3 means the opening of conference action for most teams, with crosstown rivals Racine Horlick and Racine Park squaring off at Horlick Field, the home field for the Horlick Rebels. It will be the 100th meeting between the Racine city teams, as Park holds a commanding 54-39-6 all-time advantage in a rivalry that has been played at least once each year since 1928. Park won a 27-20 thriller last year after trailing entering the fourth quarter, scoring with less than a minute left to secure the victory. 

Merrill and Rhinelander will meet up for the 100th time in the final game of the regular season, hosted by Rhinelander high School. The Hodags won 7-0 last year, but it is Merrill that holds the series advantage, 51-46-2 in a rivalry that started in 1921.

Amazingly, the state's most-played rivalry enters the 2024 dead even. Reedsburg will host Baraboo in Week 7 in the 137th matchup between the Sauk County schools, the most of any rivalry in state history. In the series that dates back to 1900 and has been played continuously since 1919, each team has won 65 times in the previous 136 meetings, with five ties. That leaves the all-time mark even at 65-65-5 for both squads. Someone will take home the Old River Jug and the edge in the rivalry October 4th.

For more information on the history of the Old River Jug rivalry (trophy pictured at left), as it's known, see this article on WSN from longtime Reedsburg newspaperman Jeff Seering from 2014.

- Sadly, with conference realignment separating the schools this year, Cudahy and South Milwaukee were not able to schedule a non-conference game to keep their rivalry going. The teams are separated by just three miles and have played 94 times previously, with Cudahy holding a 47-42-5 advantage dating back to the first meeting in 1922.

- Another long-time rivalry that comes to an end this year is Cedarburg versus Port Washington. When Port Washington moved out of the North Shore and into the East Central a few years ago, the teams continued playing non-conference games, but this year will not matchup on the schedule. Port Washington holds a 57-32-4 advantage in 93 meetings, as the team rivalry started in 1928 and had been played continuously since 1951.

- The state's second-most played rivalry is once again not contested, as Algoma moved to 8-player a few years ago and will no longer face Kewaunee. The teams had met 125 times, with Kewaunee holding a 79-39-7 advantage.

- The states third most played rivalry is Darlington versus Mineral Point, and last year the teams played twice, with Darlington winning in both the regular season and postseason to take a 92-26-5 lead in 123 meetings.

- The famous "M&M Game" is set for Week 2, as Marinette and Menominee (MI) are separated by just 3.2 miles, the Menominee River, and a state border. Menomonie (MI) leads that series 59-47-2, though results are not available for three games in a matchup that will be played for the 112th time this year.

- Green Bay East and Green Bay West have struggled for many years, but the teams do have the longest continuous rivalry going, playing each year since 1905. East leads 64-51-3 in 118 matchups.

- Weeks 2 and 9 will be busy ones on the rivalry calendar, with six matchups each week featuring teams that have played at least 75 times.
 

Do you have info on a long-running football rivalry? Please share the information with us as we put together a list of the most played and/or longest-running rivalries. Email Travis Wilson at travis@wissports.net with the name of the teams, the total number of games played, and the overall series record. Please include only specific, verified information on rivalries with at least 70 meetings.

Travis Wilson serves as the WisSports.net General Manager, Football Editor, and contributing writer for other parts of the site. Wilson was selected as part of the Sports 40 Under 40 list by Coach & AD Magazine and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for 2019. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) named Travis the 2015 recipient of the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the WFCA Executive Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. A graduate of Richland Center High School and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, basketball), inducted to the Richland Center High School Hall of Fame in 2023, and currently resides in Reedsburg. You can follow him on Twitter at @travisWSN.

For the latest and most up to date football news and recruiting information, follow Travis on Twitter @travisWSN. Email story ideas, recruiting info, etc. to Travis at travis(at)wissports.net.