WINNEBAGO COUNTY (NBC 26) — One of Wisconsin's oldest high school football rivalries will reach triple digits later this week, as Neenah and Menasha are scheduled to play for the 100th time Thursday night.
- Neenah leads the all-time series 54-40-5; the Rockets have won three straight games over Menasha, including a 40-0 victory last season.
- After this game, there are no more Neenah-Menasha games on the future schedule. Menasha's coach said he made the decision to schedule different non-conference games in the "best interest of this program."
- The series has had lengthy gaps before, including recently from 2014-2020 when the Bluejays moved out of the Fox Valley Association; the rivalry resumed in 2021.
“We’ve been playing a long time," Jon Joch, a Neenah alumnus who has been going to Neenah-Menasha football games since the early 1980s, said. "Hopefully there’s a little more scoring than our first game back in 1896.”
The series dates back 128 years, when the two schools battled to a scoreless tie. The two football fields are located just five miles from one another.
“It’s our natural rival," Joch continued. "You’re so close to each other. Just two schools that want to beat each other but at the same time respect each other and know that it’s your chief rival.”
Players on both sides said they know the other team well; the two sides often see each other around the neighboring cities.
“It’s right down the road," Alex Alatorre, Neenah's starting center, said. "We go over there for wings on Wednesday and we see them in there and we know we’re going to play them week two.”
“Sometimes that can make the rivalry bigger because when you see the person in public you’re like ‘oh we beat you guys in that game then,’" Menasha senior linebacker/tight end Nathan Messman added. "It just gives you the upper hand then.”
The head coaches are well-connected to the series: both played in the game and now lead their respective alma maters.
“Back when I played in high school football the coaches didn’t even talk, they didn’t like each other," Menasha coach Jeramie Korth said. "(Neenah) Coach (Steve) Jung is one of my best friends.”
“I think it’s one of our biggest games on our schedule," Jung said. "And I really want our kids to play well and I really enjoy that battle. I think it’s great for our community.”
From proximity to familiarity to history, all the ingredients add up to create a unique rivalry.
However, at least as of now, this is the last Neenah-Menasha game on the schedule.
“It’s not something that we’re going to do in the near future," Korth said. "But we’ll see beyond that.”
Jung indicated that Neenah would like to continue, both Korth noted concerns surrounding the enrollment differences between the two schools.
Last year, Neenah High School had 1,979 students enrolled while Menasha had 966.
Korth also said Neenah's football participation is higher than Menasha's, saying Neenah has "75 to 100 kids at each grade level in middle school" while Menasha has "25 to 30 kids."
“I’ve got to look at the best interest for this program," Korth said. "It’s something we’ll look at down the line but next year we do have two different non-conference opponents."
The series has had gaps before, like recently from 2014 to 2020 after Menasha moved from the Fox Valley Association to the Bay Conference; the Bluejays are now in the Fox River Classic Conference south division for football.
The two sides resumed the rivalry in 2021, but this week's matchup marks the end of that four-season agreement. Neenah has won all three meetings since the resumption, including a 40-0 win last year.
Jung said this is part of a larger issue for FVA teams, which have had issues scheduling non-conference games in recent years. Notably, Kimberly has had its Week 1 game canceled each of the past two seasons after its opponent dropped out.
"As teams get bigger there's always different scenarios that come out," Jung said. "For us - I think the FVA and the Classic Eight down in the southern part of the state - it's starting to be hard to get games."
Jung said the FVA could be interested in "aligning" itself with the Classic Eight, which features several powerhouses like Arrowhead, Muskego, Mukwonago and Kettle Moraine.
"That's something that we would like to have," Jung said. "Crossover games with a conference like ours."
That would involve the two conferences teaming up, so to speak, to play non-conference games against one another. However, right now the Classic Eight has only seven teams compared to eight in the FVA, which Jung said would make scheduling difficult.
As for the Neenah-Menasha rivalry, Thursday night's game could be the swan song in the series. 100 may be a nice round number to finish on, but many hope the two sides find a way to keep it running.
“I’ll just say that I hope that the coaches and the administrations can work to keep this rivalry going," Joch said. "And I think it’s great for our kids, it’s great for our communities and it’s a win-win opportunity for both sides."
Neenah leads the series 54-40-5. Game No. 100 kicks off at 7:00 p.m. Thursday at Neenah High School.
