Bishop Hendricken at La Salle Academy is MaxPreps Rivalry Series Game 10.
Photo by Alycia Powers
Combined,
La Salle Academy (Providence, R.I.) and
Bishop Hendricken (Warwick, R.I.) have the most amount of Rhode Island Super Bowl championships than any other teams in the state. So it is no surprise that they are each other's top rivals.
Both schools are private catholic schools. La Salle is co-ed and Hendrickson is males only. The rivalry started instantly when Hendrickson opened their doors in 1959. The two schools became the Rhode Island's biggest private school rivalry, and it is now recognized statewide.
"Kids that are looking at a Catholic program or school to attended it is either La Salle Academy or Bishop Hendricken," La Salle head coach Geoff Marcone said. "So if you choose La Salle you immediately have allegiance to La Salle and vice versa if you choose Hendricken you are a Hendricken guy."
Games between the two teams are described as dog fights; they are competitive, physical and intense. The teams have had back and forth bragging rights continuously for more than a decade.
"The most recent incarnation of the rivalry was in the late nineties when La Salle had a little bit of a football revival and Hendricken was coming off a string of very successful football teams. As both teams began to become equal, they started becoming very competitive with each other," La Salle Dean Vin McGinn explained.
Since 1990, there were only two years that neither team made it to the Rhode Island Super Bowl. For the past two years, they faced each other in the Super Bowl and Hendricken took home both wins.
They pride themselves on having rich academics and athletics. The deep traditions of each school reflect in their football program. Hendricken head coach Keith Croft says he makes sure his team knows the importance of the rivalry and that it guides everything that they do.
"When they graduate and become alumni of the school they are going to come back and they are going to want to watch this game and it is something that they are going to want to talk to their teammates about for the rest of their lives," Croft said.
When the season's schedule comes out the first thing each team does is look to see when they are playing each other. Both teams have the utmost respect for one another. But when it comes down to game day, they both want to be prepared to take the "W."
This Friday, La Salle needs a win to keep their playoff dreams alive. Hendricken has already secured a playoff spot and is favored to win the game. Coach Marcone said he hopes his team goes out there and leaves no regrets.
"I tell our kids the biggest thing you are going to do to be happy is to do the best and do the right thing, so if you do that no matter what happens — either in life or on the field — at least you can walk off with your head high,"he said.
