"You think, 'oh it's over. I've got no more games left,'" said City Running Back Kevin Nutt of Edison. "And then you get an unexpected call to play one last game with a whole bunch of other dudes you played against, and played with, it's just a great feeling."
"They're going to put effort forth, and they're going to have fun," said City Head Coach Matt Johnson, also of Edison. "But it means a lot to us because we understand the gravity of this. We're trying to bring this game back to the days when it was 10,000 people at Ratcliffe Stadium."
The city roster for the June 20th's City-County All-Star Game is excited to be back on the field with their gridiron warrior brothers. If for nothing else, the game is one more chance at reliving the glory days.
"That's the reason why I want to win the game: For them," the Colorado State-bound Nutt said of his teammates that aren't playing college football. "I don't want them to lose their last high school football game possibly for the rest of their lives. I want them to enjoy themselves and get a 'W'."
The City kids know they're favored to win the game in the court of public perception. But they also know it will be a lot tougher on the field, and 24 miles away at Kerman high school, the County roster agrees.
"All credit to them: They're a bunch of great athletes and great guys too," said County Quarterback Josh Allen of Firebaugh. "But this year's different. We've got the team. The coaches put together a great team and we're going to come out and compete every play."
Coming from predominantly smaller schools, the County kids will rely on their trademark blue collar reputation, knowing hard work and dedication got them to this point.
"You want to be in this situation," said County Head Coach Bill Magnusson, also of Firebaugh. "I like being the underdog, the guy that people say, 'Well you're the County. You don't usually win or whatever.' Give kids a reason to fight harder, and they're going to rise to the occasion."
But priority number one is to have fun one last time under the Friday Night Lights. And if they can execute, victory will be theirs, upset or not.
"We got together and we talked and it's just been something in the back of our minds for a long time," said the Reedley College-bound Allen. "We knew eventually if we worked hard in the season, we were going to get to play in this game. This is the final game of our high school careers, so we're going to go out and put on a show."