Joe Salvino watched as a new scoreboard was installed at Memorial Stadium and had flashbacks to the glory days of Monessen's rivalry with Charleroi.
“I remember we'd be practicing on Thursday night and carloads of Charleroi kids would drive by our stadium and start screaming,” said Salvino, a Monessen graduate and the Greyhounds' coach. “When the game was in Charleroi, they used to burn an ‘M' in a clearing in the woods. It was very, very intense.”
Thanks to the PIAA expansion to six classifications and a shortened season, WPIAL schools had the choice of a second scrimmage or playing a Week Zero game.
That allowed Monessen and Charleroi to resume a rivalry that dates to 1907. The Greyhounds and Cougars, schools separated by a bridge that crosses the Monongahela River, will play Friday night for the 100th time in the series.
Charleroi and Monessen played every year but one from 1923 until 2007, when the Cougars moved up to Class AA and played a nine-game schedule that didn't allow for a game against the Greyhounds.
Charleroi holds a 49-43-9 edge in the all-time series. The teams since have had spirited scrimmages, but the stakes weren't the same.
“I think it's very important, for the players to rejuvenate the rivalry we once had, for the school and the community,” Salvino said.
“I think it was a no-brainer. If it was just going to be a scrimmage, we weren't going to do it. It really worked out fine for us. It's been a great rivalry throughout the years. To get it back is great.”
Whether you're an opponent or proponent of Week Zero games, there is no debating the best thing about it is that it allows for the resumption of rivalries.
Most important, neighboring schools separated by the new classifications were able to continue playing each other.
When Hampton moved up to Class 5A, it lost long-time Greater Allegheny Conference foes Knoch and Mars as annual opponents. When Knoch opted for a second scrimmage, Hampton athletic director Bill Cardone turned to Mars for a season opener.
“We have a good rivalry with them, not only in football but a lot of sports,” Cardone said. “It's just a natural rivalry for us. We thought it would be good to continue something that's going on a long time.”
Not only are the resumption of rivalries good for the game, they're great for the gate. Both schools stand to profit from playing a familiar foe that should draw big crowds.
“That's secondary. The gate is nice to have, but that wasn't the primary reason to do it,” Cardone said. “I'm not going to lie: It's going to be a good gate for both schools.”
North Hills lost its archnemesis when North Allegheny — its traditional Week 9 opponent — moved up to 6A. So the 5A Indians will start the season against 6A Shaler, another old Quad North rival.
“I thought it would be great to continue the rivalry,” said North Hills coach Pat Carey, who played for the Indians in the late 1980s. “We've played for a long time, and they're right next door.
“We are going to miss playing North Allegheny. It's strange not to have them on the schedule.”
It's strange to start the season with a game against an archrival, just not as strange as it would be to go without playing them at all.
Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at kgorman@tribweb.com or via Twitter @KGorman_Trib.
