It's almost Friday which means it's almost time for those Friday night lights and a sweet, sweet rivalry. One that's been around for over 100 years, Paso Robles hosts Atascadero tomorrow night for a pivotal game for both teams in week four.
"People can tell you, oh it's just another game, no it's not. On many occasions, we have had to bring in extra seating from the fairgrounds to accommodate the crowds. It's not just another game," former Paso Robles head coach Bill Stansbury said.
"I participated in it myself, it was coach Vic Cooper's first year at Atascadero, it was my junior year. It's a huge rivalry, it's great to see these two communities come together," head coach Matthew Carroll added.
Tim Alvord, who has coached at Paso Robles was a student-athlete for Atascadero in 1968. "Paso bullied us around most of the time when I was a senior, we had the opportunity to get a piece of the league championship, Paso was down that year, all we had to do was get a win and we couldn't do it."
"It creates a real sense of community you don't have a lot in urban areas, strong loyalty to both schools... Get there early, cheer loud, cheer often, and appreciate you're in a place where both teams have this type of support and athletes have this type of opportunity to perform in this atmosphere," Stansbury added.
