Pueblo's Bell, Cannon Game high school football rivalries set for July movie premiere
The oldest high school football rivalry west of the Mississippi, the Bell Game between Pueblo's Centennial and Central high schools, is showcased in a documentary that will premiere this summer.
The Cannon Game, between South and East high schools, also features in the hour-long film called "Two Rivers: A Story of High School Football Rivalries in Pueblo, Colorado," and produced by Colorado-based FanVu.
“We are elated that FanVu has chosen Pueblo and its football rivalries for this production,” Pueblo District 60 athletics director Aaron Bravo said in a release. “We all know the excitement and interest the Bell and Cannon Games generate, and now it’s time for the rest of the nation, and world, to find out what makes Pueblo football so special.”
The FanVu documentary combines historical footage and photographs, interviews, and action from the Bell and Cannon Games, Pueblo D60 said in a statement posted on its website.
"Two Rivers: A Story of High School Football Rivalries in Pueblo, Colorado" will premiere Saturday, July 30, at Pueblo Memorial Hall.
Tickets for the reserved seating screening at 3 p.m. and general admission showings, at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., went on sale Monday at 10 p.m., for $6.50 for all ages. Sales are limited to 30 tickets per buyer. Tickets bought online incur a $1.50 surcharge. They can also be purchased at the Pueblo Memorial Hall box office without a surcharge.
The Central Wildcats and Centennial Bulldogs have been playing against each other since 1892, when they faced off in Minnequa Ball Park near Pueblo's Lake Minnequa. The rivalry became the Bell Game in 1950 when Lou Rhoads donated an old C&W Railway engine bell that the schools play for.
The winning team earns the right to paint the cart that the bell is mounted on in their school's colors.
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The football rivalry between South and East began in 1959, but became the Cannon Game in 1976 when the Steel City Kiwanis, along with student-led Key Clubs from both schools, donated a real, working Civil War-era cannon to the schools.
The winning team earns possession of the cannon for their school and puts "their own unique spin on decorating" it, D60 says on its website.
"While the paint job may change, the signature, ear-pounding BOOM can be heard at the winning school's sporting events and school activities that year," it says.
MORE: Cannon Game memories run deep for former South football assistant coach Roxy Burris
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo's Bell, Cannon Game football rivalries set for film premiere
