Brawl has a different feel this year

It’s not easy for something almost 100 years old to maintain its novelty, but at its best the Backyard Brawl did just that.

The greatest high school football rivalry in Central Pennsylvania, the Brawl began in 1934, when Tyrone played its first game against Bellwood High School. Five years later Bellwood merged with Antis Township High creating the school that exists to this day and beginning a football series that has lasted into the 21st Century.

For most of that time, the game of games has been played during Week 1, with very few exceptions. And because it was the first game of the season, it was always new, always fresh, always highly anticipated. Beyond that, the Brawl offered both teams hope because so much was yet unknown.