LINCOLN, Neb. (KMTV) — A high school football rivalry dating back to the 1920s renewed in week four of the high school football season: Fremont and Columbus played in the F&C Cup.
And for the first time it was at Memorial Stadium.
- After Nebraska football announced the home game against Illinois would be on a Friday, Fremont's AD Scott Anderson reached out to Troy Dannen asking if the F&C Cup could be played at Memorial Stadium the following day.
- After months of planning, everything came to fruition.
- Players and coaches embraced the opportunity to play a historic rivalry in a legendary stadium.
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It all started with an email from Fremont’s athletic director Scott Anderson to Troy Dannen a few months ago after Nebraska announced it would host Illinois on a Friday.
Tyler zwingman | columbus sr. Linebacker/wide receiver: “I’ve been a Husker fan my whole life, came to games all my life," Tyler Zwingman, a linebacker and wide receiver for Columbus, said. "To be on this field playing a game is something special. I’m extremely honored.”
The two programs working together to give their players a huge opportunity.
“It means so much to these guys to play in the mecca of college athletics in the Midwest," Columbus football coach Craig Williams said.
A unique game with an old rival.
"Their eyes were a little bit big when they showed up," Fremont coach Lee Jennings said. "We’ve been preaching all week it’s 120 yards from end line to end line no matter what. We’ll play Columbus anywhere, no matter if it’s Memorial Stadium or somebody’s backyard.”
This was the game circled in the schedule for a long time.
“It kind of didn’t seem real because it was 3-4 months away," Anderson said. "So it was like ‘ok, we’ll kind of talk more when we get to the fall.’ Then throughout the last month or so things have really cranked up.”
Anderson says it costs about the same amount to have the game at Memorial Stadium as a home game.
"The university of Nebraska's athletic department has been great to work with," he said. "Every request we had, they said ‘yes, we’re gonna do everything we can to make this work.’ It was such a special day for our kids.”
Continuing a historic rivalry in a legendary setting
“Every year it’s a big game," Jennings said. "It doesn’t matter if we’re 0-and-3 or 3-and-0. It’s a game we circle on our schedule and look forward to a lot.”
“There’s a lot of respect between the two, but Fremont week is different for us and Columbus week is different for them, I know that," Williams said."It means just a little bit more when this game comes around.”
“Just thinking about all the players that have gone through this and earned that cup, it’s something special," Zwingman said.
In case you missed it, Columbus won 28-27 in overtime.
