M-A’s football team has had many tense games, but our one true rival is a subject of ongoing debate. Even M-A’s football players themselves aren’t exactly sure who their real rival is. “Every week, every game is a new rivalry for me,” junior running back Eva Ama said.
Although Los Gatos has bested M-A for the past three seasons, the Wildcats have proven to still be an exciting team to play. These recent losses are bound to stir up some competitiveness from the Bears. “We always have good games against Los Gatos but I’ve never beat them,” junior quarterback Teddy Dacey said.
“They’re a really tough opponent that we have to prepare for every year. That game is always what we’re most excited for,” junior running back Monty Turner added.
Menlo is another important game for the Bears, and in recent years, it has been a toss-up. This year, the Bears overcame the Knights on their home turf for their Homecoming game, where they won 21-18. Due to its close proximity to M-A, in which both teams want to be the best in Menlo Park, and its strong football team, Menlo is a frequent contender for a rival.
However, many Menlo students see themselves committed to their own rivalry with SHP. “Our rival is SHP. We’re both private schools and both on Valparaiso Ave.” Menlo junior Tania Troper said. Yet, M-A is a close runner-up for many Knights. “M-A is a big public school and because of our smaller size, we feel that their athletic program is larger than ours. It makes for a good match-up and gives us a shot to show we can compete with the bigger schools,” Menlo junior and football player Dylan O’Malley said.
While it might not be mutual, the consensus is that SHP is the team to beat. The biggest game of the year because of friendships across the bleachers and field along with close scores, M-A’s game against the Gators, without fail, draws a packed crowd and intense preparation from the football team every year. “We beat Menlo more often, they are irrelevant to our football team,” football manager Funaki Vunipola said.
It’s more than just the quality of the game, many M-A students are closer to SHP students than Menlo students. “Menlo’s smaller than SHP, so we know fewer people there,” senior John Cutler said.
“The people at M-A connect with people at SHP more than people at Menlo, we know them more,” senior 12th Man member Ruby Pence said.
This year’s game was a disappointing 7-21 on SHP’s field. Last year, M-A’s Homecoming game against the Gators went into overtime, ending in a 21-27 loss. In 2022, the Bears lost for the first time in eight years,14-35.
“We prepare for SHP the most, and now that we lost we’re just working to do better and win next year,” junior defensive tackle Henry Uili said.
“SHP is local and they’re good. it’s the competitive long-standing rivalry,” Administrative Vice-Principal Amy Hansen said.
In the same way, there is constant, personal competition among the players. “We’ve been playing them for years; it is constantly back and forth; there’s mutual hate between us,” junior wide receiver JT Roeder said.
“The history behind playing SHP is full of ups and downs, it’s stronger,” Uili said. “Menlo just doesn’t give us as much of a fight.”
Students also carry strong emotions toward SHP because of their prep school status. “They are normally good at their sports, and they’re a prep school. We have beef with them,” senior Claire Gong said.
However, SHP students consider Menlo their rival, not M-A. “Menlo is our under-the-light game; our beef with them dates back longer than with M-A. It’s also an ongoing competition for the Valpo bowl, a competition for the best team on Valparaiso Ave.,” SHP player Gregory Gamitian said.
It’s hard to pinpoint one “rival” that will satisfy all the students, but it’s safe to say that not many students consider it to be Los Gatos, and hostility is more strongly directed at SHP than Menlo. While SHP is known for unpredictable games and intense passion in the stands, their competition with Menlo is stronger than with M-A. So, even as a one-sided rivalry, the hype on the stands, the field, and even in the halls leading up to a game shows that M-A students care most about beating SHP.
