As Lafayette College and Lehigh University prepare to compete in the 160th Rivalry Game this year, another storied Lehigh Valley rivalry is heating up: the Easton-Phillipsburg high school showdown.
“It is seriously unlike any other rivalry I’ve seen — it might even top Lafayette-Lehigh, just in the turnout that it gets,” said junior Olivia Bacho, who attended Phillipsburg. “Everybody talks about it.”
The yearly game, which has been played on Thanksgiving Day since 1916, has been hosted at Fisher Stadium since 1926.
Several members of the football team had Lehigh Valley rivalry experience prior to attending Lafayette: senior running back Nahjee Adams, sophomore offensive lineman Sean Wilson and junior linebacker Jack Bayly all played at Easton.
Football head coach John Troxell also played in the rivalry but at Phillipsburg. In 1988, Troxell, who was filling in for the Stateliners’ injured quarterback, threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Lou Moser.
He noted that his experience playing at Phillipsburg prepared him for the pressure of both playing and coaching in the Lafayette-Lehigh rivalry.
“It’s Thanksgiving, it’s about football, family and the two communities,” Troxell said. “The players, they have kind of an extended family with hundreds of players from their side pulling for them, that are older.”
Troxell said that this community spirit does not leave moving into the Lafayette-Lehigh rivalry.
“We all have extended Lafayette family that we’re trying to make proud and have bragging rights,” he said.
Adams concurred, noting that big crowds at high school games “aren’t necessarily the norm.”
“There was never a doubt that you would be going to a game that’s packed,” he said about the Easton-Phillipsburg game.
Bacho said that one of Phillipsburg’s traditions is to walk from Maloney Stadium, across the toll bridge over the Delaware and up to College Hill and Fisher Stadium.
One of Easton’s biggest rivalry traditions is the yearly bonfire the night before the game. The bonfire — along with Phillipsburg’s annual fireworks show — has been canceled this year due to the ongoing drought.
“I was excited to be able to go,” said Wilson, who was invited to the bonfire as an alumnus. “This was gonna be the first year I was invited back to speak.”
For many Easton and Phillipsburg students who chose to attend Lafayette, the morning game at Fisher Field was one of their first impressions of Lafayette.
“When I came here, people were like, ‘yeah, I’ve never experienced a rivalry like this,’” said sophomore Regan Thompson, who attended Phillipsburg. “I guess not every high school had an insane rivalry like we did.”
While both rivalries are important, Easton-Phillipsburg appears more central to the local community.
“I feel more of a connection and a hometown vibe with the Easton-P’burg game,” said senior Lindsay Geiger, who attended Easton. “A lot of it is kids that I’ve grown up knowing from kindergarten to high school and teachers.”
“I feel like the Lafayette-Lehigh game, as far as a national recognition, is bigger, but in terms of the game and how meaningful it is, I feel like it’s the Easton-P’burg game,” Adams said. “I think both games are equally substantial to the society here in Easton.”
According to senior Chris Taverner, who performed in Easton’s marching band during the “Turkey Day” game, students from both schools have a history of playing pranks on the other school.
“I feel like once you’re involved in the P’burg-Easton rivalry, similar to Laf-Le, you’re never uninvolved,” Bacho said. “You could leave P’burg or Easton, but the rivalry will never leave you.”
