Bell Game brings fans, graduates of all ages to Pueblo

It’s the oldest high school football rivalry west of the Mississippi River, but students and fans of Centennial and Central high schools say it doesn’t matter how old the rivalry is, the match is ageless.

The two schools have played each other for 115 years.

The schools had their annual bell bashes Thursday night. It’s one of the pep rallies that gathers students and graduates together to get pumped up for the Bell Game on Friday night.

For some students, this is one of their last highlights in high school.

“It’s going to be sad. I’m going to miss bell week. I’ll the miss the environment around the school, being crazy the whole time,” Centennial student Eli Finley said.

“I really hope I can have a hand on the bell at some point. I’m counting on our boys,” Central student Megan Moore said.

Others who are past their student years said this is the one game that always brings them back to school.

“It takes me back to when I was part of that spirit,” Central graduate Bob Donnerman said.

“Some things have changed, but a lot of the things stay the same. Centennial is a school about tradition, and a lot of the traditions carry on from generation to generation,” Centennial graduate Pat Barber said.

Students and graduates either chanted “Bell rings blue” or “Bell rings red” at the rallies and they will find out for whom the bell tolls on Friday night at seven in Dutch Clark Stadium.

Tickets for the game are sold out for both schools.