PORTSMOUTH, Ohio — The latest chapter in a high school football rivalry that began in 1899 will be played out Friday night in Portsmouth. The Trojans are hosting the Ironton Fighting Tigers.

After all those years, the victories are nearly even, with the Tigers leading by just two games. While Ironton has won the past few battles, their team is taking nothing for granted.

“The last couple years we won, but we had to fight,” said Tim Collins, the Tigers’ equipment manager and former assistant coach. “They played us all the way down to the end.”

“Our kids have never feared Ironton they look forward to this every year,” said Portsmouth’s athletic director and former football coach Joe Albrecht. 

He said the game is rooted in a rich history of hard-working blue-collar people in the region.

“It’s a river rivalry,” Albrecht said. “It dates back to when Ironton had the iron makers and Portsmouth had the steel mills going on.”

What may have sparked brawls in the past is now more about bragging rights today.

“We call this a walk the streets game,” said Trevon Pendleton, the Tigers' head coach. “If you win, you get to walk the streets. If you lose, you gotta walk the alleys for a year til you get another shot at 'em.”

His opposing coach said the pressure to win brings out the best in the boys on both teams.

“You know that when it comes to Portsmouth-Ironton, you’re going to get every ounce of what that young man has,” said Bruce Kalb, Portsmouth’s head coach and a former player for the Trojans. “That’s what I love about high school football and that’s why I love this rivalry so much.”

The teams play for the Tom Grashel Trophy, named after the late football coach and athletic director for Portsmouth, who died in 2008.