West Trounces East in State's Oldest Football Rivalry

The lines for the Aurora football fans stretched more than 100 feet long as the highly partisan and oldest rivalry in the state was renewed at East Aurora on Friday night.

Meeting for the 119th time — the oldest continuous football rivalry in the state and the fourth eldest in nation — it was all West Aurora in the schools’ opener before a packed house.

The Blackhawks scored on all five of their first-half possessions, held their archrival to minus-28 yards of offense during the span and played the entire second half under a running clock in winning their 11th straight over the Tomcats.

With its 48-6 win West High gave Nate Eimer, a 2001 alumnus, his first victory as a head coach.

“I thought our defense was exceptional,” said Eimer, a member of the Blackhawks’ 2000 Class AA state-championship basketball team. “I thought our special teams were very good, except for that (58-yard Desmond Gant) kickoff return (when the game was long decided).

West, with eight starters returning on defense, smothered the East High offense in its tracks.

Operating from a short field the whole first half, the lone possession that started in West territory lasted all of one play as three-year starter Nate Zinzer scored on a flanker reverse from 52 yards out.

Ricardo Gomez scored on a 38-yard fumble return, and Josh Campbell made it 3-for-3 in the three phases of the game when he returned a punt for a score late in the second half.
Chris Shaw averted the shutout for host East High with a 22-yard reception for a score with 10-plus minutes remaining.

Kenny Hine opened the West High scoring with an 8-yard reception from Richie Renner, and senior Shon Enoch rumbled 17 yards off tackle on the ensuing possession after East High muffed the snap in punt formation. Booker Ross, the nephew of former West great Alvin Ross, added touchdown bursts of 12 and 17 yards to give the Blackhawks an insurmountable 41-0 lead at the break.

“I had the mindset to score every time,” said Ross, who finished with 38 yards on three carries.

“We’re very young,” said East High coach Bill Bryant. “We have some kids who never played football before this year. Field position played a part.”

Shaw hauled in his touchdown strike from quarterback Laquan Brown with 10 minutes and 25 seconds to play in the game.

“The problem (offensively) over the first three quarters of the game was our offensive line failed to execute,” Shaw said of the Blackhawks’ aggressive 3-5-3 defense.

“We never let (East High) get into a rhythm,” West three-year starting linebacker and defensive captain Brandon Warren said.

Grover Cleveland was president when the schools’ initial game was played in the fall of 1893.

“It’s one of the greatest rivalries in the state,” said Zinzer, who also recovered a fumble from his secondary position. “The fact that it’s the first game of the year makes it even better.”

West High also won the sophomore game, 39-0, to make it a clean sweep for the Blackhawks.