It's playoff time for high school football!

Big games, big crowds, and passionate fans will be all over West Michigan.  But it doesn't take playoff football to get high school fans excited.

West Michigan is home to some great rivalries.

What is the best high school sports rivalry in West Michigan?

When rivals meet in the playoffs, it makes for a very special event.  Zeeland East and Zeeland West will meet for the second time this season this weekend.

Their first game this year was a 60-52 victory for Zeeland East.  Yes, 60-52.

Zeeland East is undefeated, but come Friday night that doesn't matter.  The whole city of Zeeland will be watching and nothing will come easy for either side.  The Zeeland East/Zeeland West rivalry is new, but it is special.  Mlive.com explains:

Since 2005, the 3-square-mile community has been divided between the Chix and the Dux -- distanced by less than a mile by road and a Hail Mary pass by foot.

Zeeland High School began to separate in 2002 before finally splitting into two separate, but smaller, football programs.

Students at Zeeland West and Zeeland East even share classes together.  That makes bragging rights all the more important.

Some rivalries grow due to geography.  Some rivalries grow due to the success of the programs.  Some rivalries grow due to repeated meetings over many years.

The West Catholic/Catholic Central rivalry, has been around a long time.  West Catholic and Catholic Central began playing each other in football in 1965.  They played each other annually until 2010, when the rivalry took a break, to the disappointment of many.

The West Catholic/Catholic Central rivalry still exists, just not via an annual football game like in the past.  It gets my vote as the best high school sports rivalry in West Michigan.  But I'm biased.

Recent changes in the O.K. Conference has some high schools playing schools that they haven't regularly played before and some high schools moving away from familiar opponents.  Changes like this can have an impact on rivalries, but most big rivalries will survive.

West Michigan is full of great teams and rivalries:  East Kentwood and Rockford, Lowell and East Grand Rapids, etc.

 

Which high school rivalry gets your vote as the best in West Michigan?

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