By Maria Leonino

     As the ongoing rivalry between Stow and Cuyahoga Falls continues after many years, another matchup between the neighboring cities will unfold through a basketball game.

     Both schools’ student councils have agreed to host a rivalry week, and throughout the week of Feb. 18 to Feb. 21, there will be completions and events to determine a winner. 

     Stow is currently 6-7-0 for their overall record, and 5-4-0 in the suburban league national conference. Cuyahoga Falls is 2-10-0 overall, and 1-7-0 in the league. 

     Earlier in the season, the rivals played each other at Cuyahoga Falls, and the Bulldogs beat the tigers 64-63 in a close over-time game.

     “[Student council] came up with the idea to do it against Falls instead of Hudson this year because Falls and Stow have been longtime rivals and both schools have strong Student councils making it easy to coordinate with them,” committee chair, Abbey Staats said. “We also loved seeing the way our school and community came together for our LeBron James challenge, so we wanted to do something like that again.”

     Kicking off the festivities is a spirit day during the same week. The spirit days have been coordinated with Cuyahoga Falls’s spirit days. Also, a clothing drive will be another form of completion. Students can donate clothes, which will be sent to the Haven of Rest. 

     Rivalry week t-shirts will be going on sale starting Jan. 27, and will cost eight dollars if pre-ordered. The week of the game, shirts will cost ten dollars if bought directly from Young’s. The game is free to attend if the shirt is worn. 

    On Tuesday of that week, there will be a competition hosted at the Stow and Cuyahoga Falls Dairy Queen from 3-7 p.m. Students are encouraged to buy ice cream to support their schools. 20% of the proceeds will be donated to Stow’s charity of choice, which is the Special Olympics. 

     Another part of the competition is a hype video, involving both student bodies from both schools. Students will be encouraged to send in pictures and videos from the spirit days to contribute to the video. In addition, student council has taped the basketball team to show they are game day ready. 

     As far as challenges, student council has not faced any bumps in the road. Everything has gone smoothly, and all of their ideas have been brought to life. 

     “The process has been great. We have been trying to make sure everyone shares their ideas regardless of grade or school which has helped come up with ideas that will encourage everyone to participate. The administration and Mr.  Feldman have been super supportive and on board with every idea we have thrown at them,” Staats said. 

     Committee members also include co-chair and senior Brianna Doctor, seniors Mya Dietrich and Payton Hackim and freshmen Reese Hayward and Kylie Thomas. 

     In addition to everything running smoothly with the high school administration, there has been clear communication and strong coordination between Cuyahoga Falls as well.

     “Falls has made the process so easy. We met with them in December, and are meeting again soon to make sure everything is ready for the upcoming weeks,” Hackim said.

     At their next meeting, both schools student councils will discuss in detail their plans for the week of the events and make sure everyone is on the same page. 

     At the game, the mayor of both Stow and Cuyahoga Falls will be attending to judge, as well as Judge Kim Hoover of Summit County as the impartial judge. They will be judging the hype videos and student sections. 

     Compared to last years rivalry week against Hudson, this years event has progressed more and increased the involvement more. Both schools have shown great interest and worked well together. 

     “I have loved meeting with Cuyahoga Falls’s student council and correlating the spirit days. It was cool to bounce ideas off of each other to make the event successful,” Hayward said. 

     The route eight rivalry boys basketball game vs. Cuyahoga Falls will take place on Fri., Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the high school.