Historically and currently, Hastings and Dobbs Ferry have been fierce blood rivals on the gridiron.
Jam-packed crowds, brash pre-game bravado, and ultra-hostile environments are anticipated every time this immense cross-town rivalry is renewed.
There are several other longtime Section 1 rivalries of this ilk, none of which seem to lose a speck of luster throughout the years.
There's "The Game," an annual battle between forever arch rivals Harrison and Rye.
There's the Mount Vernon/New Rochelle blood feud.
There is the showdown between Tuckahoe and Bronxville, the barroom brawl-like battles between Lakeland and Walter Panas, and a slew of others around Westchester County.
Hastings and Dobbs carries some extra juice.
The two towns are a jogging distance apart from each other. Hastings and Dobbs have been bitter neighborly foes from the jump, since the very inception of Varsity Sports programs at the respective schools.
A joint football program for nearly the entire 1990s, the rivalry was intensified by the abrupt split in 1999.
The perpetual tales of the pulsating battles, the game-winners, the intriguing subplots, the post-game celebrations, and the brawls are all re-told when the rivalry comes into view.
The rivalry heightened significantly in 2003.
A public war of words stemming from a Hastings/Dobbs basketball game created
tension between the two teams.
An ugly brawl at Gould Park that spring would spark more controversy as tempers flared and tensions escalated.
Students from both schools woke up with black-and-blue bruises the next morning.
Pranks were pulled. The situation exacerbated to the point where police from
both towns became involved.
Fortunately, the Hastings/Dobbs game has since evolved back into a first-class and civilized event.
Still, pride and bragging rights are very much at stake.
Animal spirit is heavily anticipated on Sept. 16, as Hastings and Dobbs Ferry open up another page in this storied rivalry.
Kickoff time is approximately 4:30, at Reynolds Field in Hastings.
"The rivalry game is a classic because our villages are intertwined," said Matt Manchester, a 2002/2003 All-State middle linebacker for Hastings who has lived in both Hastings and Dobbs.
"Realistically, we're two tiny pieces of a much larger town which might be why it feels different than other games.Families and friends are more passionate about the game. The history of Dobbs being the team of the 80's, then the merger, then the split... The fistfights, the confrontations, and then Dobbs reclaiming their perennial place in Syracuse. All of these aspects have made the game more fun."
Dobbs Ferry coach Chris Wagner didn't downplay the buzz, high expectations, hype, and hyperbole surrounding the game.
Wagner, a steadfast one-game-at-a-time enthusiast, said his team will approach tomorrow afternoon's game as if it's any other regular season tilt.
"Well you know, it is a rivalry," said Wagner.
"I can't minimize that or exaggerate that. But you know, we look to keep on improving our guys. We just want to get better. Each day we strive to get better."
Former players who've witnessed the intensity levels ratcheted up in this game are intrigued by the thorough history behind the rivalry.
"From what I understand, the Hastings/Dobbs rivalry dates back to at least the 1960s," said Sam Houghteling, a 2004 Hastings High School graduate and
three-year starter and captain of the Yellow Jackets.
"Even back then, it was extremely intense. Both towns were much more blue collar, with the factories along the industrial Hudson still in service. My high school defensive coordinator (Bob Russak), who played on the 1967 championship squad, described the rivalry games as battles, with thousands of spectators and much more than just a win or loss on the line."
Houghteling continued, "Things changed in the 1990's, when school enrollment dropped, and the two schools merged football programs. In some ways, this might have made competition in other sports even more competitive, the way you never want to lose a pickup basketball game against a sibling."
No question, Dobbs Ferry has had the upper hand on Hastings in recent times.
The Eagles, dubbed "the team of the century" after they captured New York State championships in 2002, 2004, and 2006, dominated Class C while Hastings proved formidable on the Class B level.
Last year, however, it seemed as if the shoe was on the other foot. Dobbs lost to Hastings under the lights at Gould Park.
Manchester, who started as a freshman in 2000, remembers seeing legendary Dobbs Ferry coach Skip Violante making his team practice deep into the night at Gould after losing to Hastings.
"Skip was making kids cry for their mistakes," recalls Manchester. "Their attention to detail couldn't curtail our size that year (2000) but in the coming years we won only 1 more league title (in Class B) while they were winning state titles (in class C).
Houghteling, like Manchester, was on the team after the split in the early 2000s.
"The games were hard-fought, and the rivalry grew quickly. Dobbs re-emerged as a perenial Section 1 powerhouse in football, but Hastings held their ground, almost upsetting them at their homecoming in 2002. We went into halftime up 7-0. The rest is history."
The two teams are both missing significant stallions from last year. Dobbs will not have All-State back Devonte Brailsford, although they seem to have his understudy in 6-foot-2, 240-pound fullback Tim Soave.
Soave showed promise in the shellacking of Haldane, breaking a 30-yard touchdown jaunt. Soave contains the prodigious fleet-of-feet to leave the same imprint at the school that recently-graduated Brailsford did.
Hastings no longer contains bullish running back Luke D'Alessandro. They do, however, feature one of the more established gunslingers in the county in senior signal caller Luca Cobucci.
Whether or not Cobucci's arm has a wealth of options remains to be seen.
The kid has helped Hastings shed its image as a conservative, pound and astound, give the ball up-the-middle team.
They've evolved into a team that a considerable aerial attack with the never gun shy Cobucci ready to whizz precise passes.
He has bought into the role of game operator, where he sets the table and slings passes so that everyone can eat off the plate.
The two teams could not have started the 2010 campaign any differently. Unproven quarterback Justin Kennedy and oft-injured receiever Eddie Fanning both made electrifying debuts as Dobbs Ferry bulldozed Haldane, 34-0.
Hastings was blasted by Tuckahoe, 46-13. Their offensive production against the Eaagles was paltry, against Dobbs they will need plenty.
Hastings' lone bright spot was Brandon Abrahante, who returned the opening kickoff back to the house for an 82-yard touchdown.
But the Jackets underwent a severe offensive famine the the rest of the way, as Tuckahoe's high-octane offense racked up 46 points, including 21 unanswered in the second and third quarters.
Despite the way the first week of the season played out, despite the loss of personnel from both teams, despite the fact that the season is at its infant, second-week stage, the table is set for a thriller.
Only because it's Hastings/Dobbs, where tradition is always respected.