WASCO, Calif. (KERO) — 23ABC spoke with football players from both Shafter and Wasco High Schools to get their perspective on what the rivalry means to them and to their communities.
- In the spirit of the tradition, both Shafter High School and Wasco High School held pep-rallies inviting the opposing school to join in on the cheers and jeers.
- For players on each squad, this week just means more, citing a rivalry that spans nearly a century. While the rivalry may seem hostile to the untrained eye, players on both squads said that after the final horn blows Friday night, its bitterness slowly fades until the next meeting.
- Kickoff for Friday's Shafter-Wasco, or Wasco-Shafter depending on where you live, rivalry game is set for Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in Wasco.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Depending on who you ask, this is arguably one of the best rivalries here in the Central Valley. I'm Sam Hoyle, your Wasco neighborhood reporter, I'm also Sam Hoyle, your Shafter neighborhood reporter, and welcome to Shafter-Wasco week or Wasco-Shafter week, depending on where you fall on these lines. The Tigers, the Generals set to battle Friday night, but the rivalry fun starts well before kick-off.
"The intensity is always there," said Christopher Espinoza, a Shafter High senior.
Keeping with tradition, Shafter and Wasco High play host to one another for dueling rallies. With Wasco playing host to Friday's rivalry game, they led off the dueling rallies, then the schools took a short trip down Highway 43 to Shafter High School for the Generals' rally
"You get to see how much this means to our school, it's more than just football. It's our school, it's school spirit, it's just so much more than football," said Jose Robledo, a Wasco High Junior.
"Everybody really loves this type of week, they're just fired up, everybody wants to come out and support us," said Espinoza.
The battle of school spirit featured performances from the Shafter and Wasco cheer squads, chants and skits from ASB clubs, and much more.
Chants of 'Burn the Tiger' and 'Burn the General' could be heard throughout the halls of both high schools, and to someone on the outside looking in, it could be construed as a hostile rivalry, and in some cases, it can be.
But according to players from both squads, the quote-un-quote bad blood will continue to boil throughout Friday until the final horn.
"The community gets together, the players talk trash and we line up on Friday night and just go you there and you know, do our thing and after the game is over, we're all friends again, but this week, we're definitely enemies," said Ethan Dunlap, a Shafter High Senior.
And for some of these seniors, this final rivalry week is one large bittersweet moment.
"My last home game, and it's my senior night. Making it my senior night, playing with these boys that I've been playing with for the last ten years, basically my whole life, since Bengals all the way to my senior year, it just sucks to leave these boys behind," said Israel Paniagua, a Wasco High senior.
The kickoff between the Tigers and the Generals is set for Friday night at 7:30 right here in Wasco.
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