Ol’ River Jug Rivalry Still Alive Between SPASH, Rapids
By Robert Whitmire
Fresh off a 14-7 Homecoming win over Neenah, the Stevens Point Area Senior High School Panther Football team travels to Wisconsin Rapids Friday, October 4 to meet the Raiders in a renewal of the battle for the Ol’ River Jug. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
One of the most storied football rivalries in Wisconsin, the Ol’ River Jug dates back to 1947 when Rapids Coach Phil Manders and P.J. Jacobs Coach John Roberts put together the trophy to recognize the tremendous rivalry between the two schools. The jug, which holds soil from the goalposts of each team’s football field and Wisconsin River water from both cities has become the symbol of this longstanding rivalry. The winner of the game holds the trophy at its school for the year.
“SPASH football is all about tradtion and this is its oldest and most prized” said Panther Senior Spencer Shirek. “It’s fun to think that I will be playing for something that my father and my brothers played for. Some of our older coaches and alum say it’s not what it used to be.”
After losing the first two games in the series, P.J. Jacobs High School brought the trophy home to Stevens Point in 1949 with a hard-fought 7-0 win. Following a pass from Carl Wiemann to Dick Cable Norbert “Nubbs” Miller scored the winning touchdown on a one yard run early in the second half. The win capped off a perfect conference record and the Valley Conference Championship for the Panthers.
“Back in the good old days, teams needed a police escort in and out of town and egg sales went up in both cities,” recalls Panther Asst. Coach Bill Blake, a thirty six year veteran of the game. “I don’t think the rivalry is as intense as it used to be with the younger players.”
Current SPASH Asst. Coach Mark Bohanski played in two Ol’ River Jug games in 1977 and 1978. “When we played things were a lot different”, he recalls. “We really didn’t like each other. We respected them but we just wanted to beat them because they were Rapids. Many of their players would say the same thing about Point I’m sure. It was always a nice, clean hitting, hard-nosed game. A lot of the rivalry stuff was done by the fans.
Stevens Point enters Friday night’s contest leading the series 35-28-1. “Coming off a big win will give us plenty of momentum going into the rivalry game'” said Senior Aaron Winch.
The University of Wisconsin Badger Marching Band is scheduled to perform before the game, at halftime and it’s famous fifth quarter show following the game. Advance tickets may be purchased for the game in the SPASH Athletics office during school hours through Friday. Ticket prices are $3.00.