For the second consecutive week, two neighboring high school football teams will battle one another for the right to take home a trophy.
Last week, the Avon Eagles beat the Avon Lake Shoreman 31-7 to win the Silver Rail Trophy. Friday night, the Madison Blue Streaks will welcome the Perry Pirates to Dick Hamblin field to battle for the Little Brown Jug.
Friday’s matchup will mark the ninth consecutive year the two eastern most schools in Lake County will renew their rivalry.
Since the series returned back in 2008, the Pirates and Blue Streaks have each won the Little Brown Jug four times. The series was put on hiatus following the 1995 season.
The Pirates won the first three meetings from 2008 thru 2010. The Blue Streaks won the next four meetings in 2011 thru 2014 before the Pirates won back the Little Brown Jug in a thrilling one point victory last season at Perry Alumni Stadium 27-26.
Perry rallied from a 13 point fourth quarter deficit to snap their four game losing streak to their neighbors to the east.
Former Blue Streak Josh Petruccelli intercepted a pass deep in Pirates territory and returned it for a touchdown in the final two minutes to win a thrilling game played in a downpour.
It’s a play that the Blue Streaks are still steaming about one year later.
“Hopefully we play mistake free football,” Madison head coach Tim Willis said. “That’s what were going to have to do. We’re going to have to be able to run the football and play good defense.”
“It’s going to take great concentration and effort in practice,” Perry head coach Matt Rosati said. “We’re playing a real good football team and in order to win we really have to concentrate. They are really in tune.”
Madison enters Friday’s showdown at 1-1. The Blue Streaks opened the season with a 16-15 loss on the road to the Geneva Eagles. Last week Madison beat the Ashtabula Lakeside Dragons 18-6 at home.
The Blue Streaks will be without one of their key guys on both sides of the football in senior Isaiah McClure because of a knee injury. McClure didn’t play last week against Lakeside.
“He’s out for probably three to four weeks at least,” Willis said. “We have to deal with that, can’t make excuses that’s not what a team is about.”
“We’ve heard he’s out,” Rosati said. “Those types of things in this day and age are sort of hard to hide. We understand that he’s not going to be playing in this football game.”
The Pirates are 2-0 and with victories over Madison’s Western Reserve Conference members Painesville Riverside and Brush. Perry will come into Friday’s game a healthy football team.
The battle for the Little Brown Jug is also a candidate for the week three game of the week on Cleveland Browns.com and on WJW Fox 8’s Friday Night Touchdown show. Fans can head over to both of their websites to vote by Thursday evening.
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