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, if I may throw them in for good measure), 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.

“This was the best time of the year,” said the late Pasquale “Pat” Abbruzzi, who made his mark both as a player and coach in many of these battles.

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 a 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 the aforementioned 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 game 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.”

Now, it’s Mt. Hope High School and Barrington High 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 6 of the first 7 games played in this series from 1993 to 1999, it’s been pretty much been all-Barrington since the year 2000, with the Eagles winning 20 of the last 23 contests, including the last 6 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. You can bet Barrington will be psyched up despite their sub-par record.