High school football gets into high gear around the state of Ohio this weekend. While this week's games feature today's youth, a decades old high school football rivalry ramps back up in late September with some of the stars from past Westfall and Paint Valley teams taking to the turf.
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Justin Barnes is a 1996 graduate of Westfall, and a former Mustangs Defensive Back, and he says this alumni game will take place on Saturday, September 21st at Westfall High School., who helped organize the special alumni game.
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"Any alumni players that want to play for either Paint Valley or Westfall have a chance to strap the pads on and give it one more go," said Barnes. "Right now, anyone age 18 to 58 is what we have, and there's a pretty good balance from each era."
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The alumni game will take place on the Westfall football field and will feature former players from the 1980s through recent years, but Barnes says the school is not affiliated with the game itself.
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"There's an organization called Alumni Football USA that we rent the equipment from, and then the facility is provided by Westfall, but the game itself is not affiliated with the school at all."
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Barnes said it was the two school’s long storied rivalry that caused organizers to look at the alumni Bearcats as an opponent. He said they got to thinking about the match-up after a feature WKKJ did a few years ago about "The 15 Year War". That feature detailed how between 1980 through mid 90's, Westfall and Paint Valley combined to win or share 13 of the SVC football titles.
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"We were looking for a team where there would be a lot of interest, and with Paint Valley and Westfall, you don't get any better history than those two schools," said Barnes.
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The game will be full contact and will follow regular high school football rules.
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Tickets to the Paint Valley vs. Westfall Alumni Game are $10.00 and will be available for purchase during all Paint Valley or Westfall high school football games up to Friday, September 20th. They’ll also be available at the gate on the night of the alumni game on September 21st, which will kick-off at 7pm.