November 13, 2015, 05:00 AM By Nathan Mollat, Daily Journal
From Redwood City to San Bruno, from Pacifica to San Mateo, this is the week Peninsula Athletic League football fans can go to any game on the Peninsula and be sure to be entertained.
Friday night’s game are the culmination of “Rivalry Week” — the one week and one game a year where tradition is just as much part of the game as the play on the field itself.
The annual rivalry games are the ones the students and respective communities look forward to year after year. And regardless of the kind of season a team is having, it doesn’t matter when they take the field against the one team they want to beat more than any other.
“There are a lot of great things going on across the Peninsula this coming weekend and each game is special in its own way,” said Burlingame coach John Philipopoulos.
What helps keep the rivalry games alive are the respective coaching staffs. Philipopoulos is one of several PAL coaches who can appreciate the tradition of the rivalry games on the Peninsula. Philipopoulos cut his teeth playing at Oceana in the now-defunct “Anchor Game” against Terra Nova. Now, in his 14th season at Burlingame, Philipopoulos has become entrenched in the “Little Big Game” against San Mateo.
Aragon coach Steve Sell played for the Dons and, following his college years at St. Mary’s, has been on the Dons’ coaching staff since 1989. He and El Camino’s Eric Jacobson are the only two PAL coaches who coach their alma mater.
“My brother entered Aragon when I was sixth-grade. I remember having to sit in the aisle at Burlingame (during the ‘Battle of Fleas’ game against Hillsdale) because there were so many people,” Sell said. “[This rivalry game] is ingrained. It’s something I always look forward to. … I’ll enjoy it more this year than in years past.”
Sell said the rise of the Hillsdale program under coach Mike Parodi, coupled with the Knights beating the Dons last year for the first time since 1991, has added some extra juice to this year’s game.
“Now, it’s just a good high school football game [between] two evenly matched teams,” Sell said. “You always hate to lose a game … (but) it’s so much different than worrying about the (23-year winning) streak.”
Parodi got his baptism to the PAL rivalry week during his two years at San Mateo, before taking over Hillsdale seven years ago. A Serra graduate, Parodi said he was aware of the various PAL rivalries, but didn’t miss out on the rivalry experience. During his playing days, his team beat Bellarmine for the first time in what he estimated was 20 years. He was also part of the Padres coaching staff when they snapped their 33-year losing streak to St. Francis in 2006. He also had a front-row seat for the College of San Mateo-City College of San Francisco rivalry as his dad, Mike Parodi Sr., was an assistant on the Rams’ coaching staff.
“I understand how big those games are. Rivalry weeks were always a fun week,” Parodi said. “What I really love about it is the alumni coming back. If they come back (to watch) a game, it’s this game.
“It’s a community thing, too. … That’s why I’m a huge proponent of high school sports, for stuff like that.”
San Mateo coach Jeff Scheller appeared to be on the same track as Sell and Jacobson as the Hillsdale graduate took over the Knights’ program for two seasons before moving on to the Bearcats.
“It’s a lot of pressure. It’s a lot of expectations. … You put pressure on yourself because you want to do well for your school,” said Scheller, now in his 10th season with the Bearcats. “But if you step out the box, you appreciate the tradition. Everybody knows this (‘Little Big Game’ with Burlingame). It’s an event.”
Philipopoulos agreed there is pressure to win this game. Not just from the Burlingame community, but the result could factor into the Panthers’ playoff future.
“It’s a big deal. This year, for us, it’s a must-win if we want to assure a home playoff game next week,” Philipopoulos said.
Capuchino coach Ben White brings a different perspective to rivalry games. A Carlmont graduate, White is one of the few head coaches in PAL history to participate in three rivalry games: as a player and coach at Carlmont, seven years playing in “The Bell Game” against El Camino as coach of South City, and now “The Battle of the Strip” against Mills.
White said, however, that nothing on the Peninsula can match what he went through during his stint at Exeter High School in the Central Valley. He said his school’s big rival was against Woodlake and the animosity between the schools was palpable.
“It was real hate. Like, police-have-to-escort-the-buses,” White said. “It’s a different level than here. I told my wife, when we played [at Woodlake], ‘don’t go.’”
White said what makes the PAL rivalries different is the fact that so many of the players at many of the schools grew up together, went to elementary and junior high school together before splitting to go to different high schools.
“That’s what is unique about [the Peninsula rivalries], all the kids know each other,” White said.
What keeps the rivalry games fresh is the fact there is a new wave of students and families entering these schools every year to carry on the traditions that date back decades — 88 years in the case of the “Little Big Game” — and inject that sometimes-lost school spirit back into the school communities.
“The demise of high school football is greatly exaggerated. People really still care about high school football,” Sell said. “In my opinion, there is not one game played after this coming weekend that generates as much excitement as the rivalry games this weekend.”
From Redwood City to San Bruno, from Pacifica to San Mateo, this is the week Peninsula Athletic League football fans can go to any game on the Peninsula and be sure to be entertained.
Friday night’s game are the culmination of “Rivalry Week” — the one week and one game a year where tradition is just as much part of the game as the play on the field itself.
The annual rivalry games are the ones the students and respective communities look forward to year after year. And regardless of the kind of season a team is having, it doesn’t matter when they take the field against the one team they want to beat more than any other.
“There are a lot of great things going on across the Peninsula this coming weekend and each game is special in its own way,” said Burlingame coach John Philipopoulos.
What helps keep the rivalry games alive are the respective coaching staffs. Philipopoulos is one of several PAL coaches who can appreciate the tradition of the rivalry games on the Peninsula. Philipopoulos cut his teeth playing at Oceana in the now-defunct “Anchor Game” against Terra Nova. Now, in his 14th season at Burlingame, Philipopoulos has become entrenched in the “Little Big Game” against San Mateo.
Aragon coach Steve Sell played for the Dons and, following his college years at St. Mary’s, has been on the Dons’ coaching staff since 1989. He and El Camino’s Eric Jacobson are the only two PAL coaches who coach their alma mater.
“My brother entered Aragon when I was sixth-grade. I remember having to sit in the aisle at Burlingame (during the ‘Battle of Fleas’ game against Hillsdale) because there were so many people,” Sell said. “[This rivalry game] is ingrained. It’s something I always look forward to. … I’ll enjoy it more this year than in years past.”
Sell said the rise of the Hillsdale program under coach Mike Parodi, coupled with the Knights beating the Dons last year for the first time since 1991, has added some extra juice to this year’s game.
“Now, it’s just a good high school football game [between] two evenly matched teams,” Sell said. “You always hate to lose a game … (but) it’s so much different than worrying about the (23-year winning) streak.”
Parodi got his baptism to the PAL rivalry week during his two years at San Mateo, before taking over Hillsdale seven years ago. A Serra graduate, Parodi said he was aware of the various PAL rivalries, but didn’t miss out on the rivalry experience. During his playing days, his team beat Bellarmine for the first time in what he estimated was 20 years. He was also part of the Padres coaching staff when they snapped their 33-year losing streak to St. Francis in 2006. He also had a front-row seat for the College of San Mateo-City College of San Francisco rivalry as his dad, Mike Parodi Sr., was an assistant on the Rams’ coaching staff.
“I understand how big those games are. Rivalry weeks were always a fun week,” Parodi said. “What I really love about it is the alumni coming back. If they come back (to watch) a game, it’s this game.
“It’s a community thing, too. … That’s why I’m a huge proponent of high school sports, for stuff like that.”
San Mateo coach Jeff Scheller appeared to be on the same track as Sell and Jacobson as the Hillsdale graduate took over the Knights’ program for two seasons before moving on to the Bearcats.
“It’s a lot of pressure. It’s a lot of expectations. … You put pressure on yourself because you want to do well for your school,” said Scheller, now in his 10th season with the Bearcats. “But if you step out the box, you appreciate the tradition. Everybody knows this (‘Little Big Game’ with Burlingame). It’s an event.”
Philipopoulos agreed there is pressure to win this game. Not just from the Burlingame community, but the result could factor into the Panthers’ playoff future.
“It’s a big deal. This year, for us, it’s a must-win if we want to assure a home playoff game next week,” Philipopoulos said.
Capuchino coach Ben White brings a different perspective to rivalry games. A Carlmont graduate, White is one of the few head coaches in PAL history to participate in three rivalry games: as a player and coach at Carlmont, seven years playing in “The Bell Game” against El Camino as coach of South City, and now “The Battle of the Strip” against Mills.
White said, however, that nothing on the Peninsula can match what he went through during his stint at Exeter High School in the Central Valley. He said his school’s big rival was against Woodlake and the animosity between the schools was palpable.
“It was real hate. Like, police-have-to-escort-the-buses,” White said. “It’s a different level than here. I told my wife, when we played [at Woodlake], ‘don’t go.’”
White said what makes the PAL rivalries different is the fact that so many of the players at many of the schools grew up together, went to elementary and junior high school together before splitting to go to different high schools.
“That’s what is unique about [the Peninsula rivalries], all the kids know each other,” White said.
What keeps the rivalry games fresh is the fact there is a new wave of students and families entering these schools every year to carry on the traditions that date back decades — 88 years in the case of the “Little Big Game” — and inject that sometimes-lost school spirit back into the school communities.
“The demise of high school football is greatly exaggerated. People really still care about high school football,” Sell said. “In my opinion, there is not one game played after this coming weekend that generates as much excitement as the rivalry games this weekend.”
