Column: There’s nothing like the high school football rivalries

BY MANUEL C. “MANNY” CORREIRA
Posted 11/26/24

High school football rivalries…there’s nothing quite like it at this time of year.  

Whether you were rooting for the old Warren Redskins or Bristol Colts or the Barrington …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Register to post events


If you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here.

Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content.

Day pass subscribers

Are you a day pass subscriber who needs to log in? Click here to continue.


Column: There’s nothing like the high school football rivalries

Posted

High school football rivalries…there’s nothing quite like it at this time of year. 

Whether you were rooting for the old Warren Redskins or Bristol Colts or the Barrington Eagles, you always got your money’s worth in the months of October and November when these gridiron squads turned up the heat to prove their superiority.

Having covered many of these classic battles myself, starting in the late 1950s when fans jammed into neighborhood ballparks and got their money’s worth, no matter which home field you visited, local schoolboy football never disappointed.

In the old days, the towns which comprised Bristol County usually saved their best for last. On Columbus Day, Barrington and Warren squared off, followed by the annual Veterans Day clash in November between Bristol and Warren. Then, on Thanksgiving Day, the big attraction was Bristol versus Barrington. No matter which game you attended, you could always expect the very best effort from each of these teams.

I’d be a fool to try and name all of these great players to ever put on uniform during my time as a sports editor, but I will tell you this, Barrington, Warren and Bristol could match up with any of the so-called “Big Boys” of the Rhode Island Interscholastic League’s upper echelon. But that’s a story for another day.

I can remember thumbing through old issues of the Bristol Phoenix and Warren Times-Gazette in search of the greatest sports legends ever to come out of Bristol County. Luckily, I crossed paths with many of them such as Pat Abbruzzi, his older brother, Louis “Duke” Abbruzzi, Jo Jo Jamiel and brother “Tut” Jamiel, Warren coaching great Charlie Burdge, Barrington’s Pat Monti and legendary coach and former Colt Memorial High star athlete Frank Murgo, Hector Massa, and former Colt stars Roland Rodrigues, Roy Ferreira, Augie Almeida, Coach Ralph Nash, Primo Cadile, Big Ray and Little Ray Almeida, and so many more.

“The Bristol-Barrington game was always a special attraction,” remembers Bristol native Bart “Bubby” Stanzione, who during his 26-year tenure as a member of the Barrington Police Dept., jumped at the chance to work the annual Thanksgiving Day when it was played at Barrington’s Victory Field.

“The Martino twins (Steve and Ronnie), former football players from Bristol, would come over and offer me a ‘nip’ on those normally cold days to warm me up a bit. Wonderful memories that have stayed with me to this very day," he said.

Now, it’s Mt. Hope High School and Barrington High School which draws everyone’s attention on Thanksgiving Day. Unfortunately for Bristol and Warren fans, the Barrington Eagles have pretty much owned this series since it began in 1993.

Although the Mt. Hope Huskies won six of the first seven games played in this series from 1993 to 1999, it’s been pretty much all-Barrington since the year 2000 with the Eagles winning 20 of the last 23 contests, including the last six in a row.

But, this is another year, and the Mt. Hope Huskies have had a very good season. Win, lose or draw, it’s Thanksgiving, and you know these gridiron warriors will give it everything they have in front of what will be Mt. Hope’s biggest and most charged-up crowd of the season.

2024 by East Bay Media Group

Barrington · Bristol · East Providence · Little Compton · Portsmouth · Tiverton · Warren · Westport
Meet our staff
MIKE REGO

Mike Rego has worked at East Bay Newspapers since 2001, helping the company launch The Westport Shorelines. He soon after became a Sports Editor, spending the next 10-plus years in that role before taking over as editor of The East Providence Post in February of 2012. To contact Mike about The Post or to submit information, suggest story ideas or photo opportunities, etc. in East Providence, email mrego@eastbaymediagroup.com.