With just one victory between them, Thursday’s game between St. Paul Academy and Blake would normally be unlikely to spark much interest outside of the schools themselves.

 

But the game is notable for marking the 100th anniversary of the first time the two schools played each other in football, making it one of the longest continuous rivalries in Minnesota.

 

According to the Blake School website, the first meeting between the two teams was held on Nov. 3, 1911, on an empty lot next to the Blake school that was “slick with ice and better suited to hockey than football.”

 

Blake won the initial game 8-0. The two schools have met 84 times since, with Blake owning a 56-23-6 edge.

 

Thursday’s game at Blake’s Hopkins Campus has been promoted heavily by the administrative offices at Blake and at St. Paul Academy, turning it into a something of a homecoming for both schools.

 

“We’ve got hundreds and hundreds of students and alumni coming to this game, so we’re pretty excited about it,” said Ami Berger, St. Paul Academy’s Director of Communications.

 

Research into what is the oldest continuously played high school football rivalry in Minnesota is ongoing.

 

The Minneapolis Tribune reported a football game between Minneapolis South and a cooperative team of players from Minneapolis Central and Minneapolis North held on Dec. 8, 1894. South won the game, 6-0.

 

The first verifiable report of a game between two current schools came on Oct. 2, 1897, when South defeated North 38-6.