Football game is long on tradition

LANCASTER — Talk to someone who has played in the General Sherman-Thomas Ewing junior high school football game and there's a good chance they will have some memories to share.

"For these kids, it's huge," Sherman Principal Scott Burre said of rivalry. "Any time you get to compete against Thomas Ewing, the school across town, the kids get keyed up for it. It's a game they will remember for as long as they play football, and longer than that. I played in this game 27 years ago, and we beat Ewing 24-6."

On Wednesday, Ewing got the best of Sherman in both the seventh-grade and eighth-grade games. The seventh-graders won, 40-14, and the eight-graders won, 36-6, at Fulton Field. For the seventh-graders, it was their first win of the year.

Ewing Principal Steve Poston said he played against Burre in the 1987 game.

"It's one of the games that you always remember just because it's your rival," he said. "Particularly the eighth-grade game. I can tell you the score of our game. But at the end of this game, it's time to move on, become teammates and get ready for your freshman year of football."

High school coach Rob Carpenter was at the game watching the players that will become Golden Gales next year and the year after.

"I've been the head coach for 18 years, and probably the guys on my team this year and the guys who played 18 years ago, they always remember their Sherman-Ewing game score," he said.

The former New York Giant running back said the game compares to the Giants and New York Jets rivalry and the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry.

"It's been testy over the years," Carpenter said.

He coached Ewing to two wins over Sherman in the '90s. Carpenter said as a coach he was looking to see that the junior high players are fundamentally sound.

"And just to see the skill kids (quarterbacks, receivers, running backs) and how they perform," he said. "Usually, it's one team's got better skill kids and the other team's got a better line, and when they all come together as one team their freshman year, it always fills in the gaps.That obviously helps us."

Golden Gales senior fullback Ryan Fitchpatrick said he probably won't ever forget playing in the game because it was the first time he had ever played on Fulton Field. He played for Ewing.

"It was awesome," Fitchpatrick said. "It was just a real big deal to be able to play in front of the actual stands and all that stuff."

It was a big deal for Ewing's Josh Rowles, who played in this year's seventh-grade win.

"It feels great," he said. "It means a lot to me to pull off a win, especially our first win of the season, against Sherman considering the whole team knows everybody on that team. It means a heck of a lot more than beating Pickerington, I think."

Terry Swyers graduated from Sherman in 1965 and was watching his grandson play for Ewing. He said the rivalry is not what it once was, but he added it is still a fun game to watch.

"Before, Memorial Drive was the cut-off line," he said. "Anybody from General Sherman caught on the other side of Memorial Drive, you better have some company with you. They used to have a BBF, a burger place on Memorial Drive, and Ewing tried to claim it as their property. It was a good rivalry."

jbarron@lancastereaglegazette.com

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Twitter: @JeffDBarron