Published: August 28, 2008 07:34 pm            

Gridiron event

BLUEFIELD — No matter which team wins tonight’s football game between the two high schools of the Bluefields, one issue will remain unresolved: Is it the Beaver-Graham Game or the Graham-Beaver Game? Who comes first depends on who you ask.

For Gray and Anthony Peretti, the debate about what name to give the traditional clash goes back and forth. Gray is a 1998 graduate of Graham High School while her husband Anthony is a 1997 graduate of Bluefield High School. Both root for their alma maters and both are looking at high school reunions this year.

Why does this football game remain such a celebrated contest for class after class at both schools? Several factors play into the tradition.

“I think it’s probably because it’s a natural rivalry,” Gray said. “As children we all grew up together and we were all friends, but it still provided us an opportunity to have a healthy competition. This football game has been a big deal as long as I can remember. For my parents, my brother and sister, it’s been one of the biggest events as long as I can remember.”

Anthony has similar memories, and he pointed out that the rivalry is not just a regional tradition.

“It’s one of the top 10 rivalries in the nation, maybe Number 8 or 9. I don’t think you have that many border state rivalries,” he said. “I played baseball, soccer and golf, but there was one game that defined the football season.”

Winning or losing the Graham-Beaver or Beaver-Graham game helps define what the rest of football season may hold, Anthony said.

“If you won that game, you had a chance of having a good year. And if you didn’t have a good year, you can say ‘We still beat Graham this year.’ It’s a rich tradition. You can go to a college football game and not see the stadium that packed. It’s definitely one of the bright spots of the football season.”

Bluefield High School students call the game the Beaver-Graham Game while Graham High School students dub it the Graham-Beaver Game. The debate doesn’t stop once a student graduates.

“My husband and I argue whether it’s the Graham-Beaver Game or the Beaver-Graham Game. Graham alumni believe it’s the Graham-Beaver Game because it rolls off the tongue better,” Gray Peretti said.

The game name debate aside, Anthony Peretti faced a quandary Thursday: On which side of the stadium will he sit?

“Maybe half and half,” he said. “But I think Bluefield’s going to win.”

One person who won’t be taking either side today when vehicles start filling the Mitchell Stadium parking lot is Robin Lefler, director of the Bluefield Parks & Recreation Department.

“I have a really good relationship with both Graham High School and Bluefield High School, and I’d like to see just a really good game and may the best team win,” she said. “I don’t get to watch a whole lot. I get to see bits and pieces, but I think what sticks out in my head is that some of those Graham and Bluefield high school players graduated from our program and that means a lot to me to see them grow up into young men and participate and move on. It makes me proud.”

        

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