Game Of The Week: Union vs. Jenks Preview

Union vs. Jenks has been called one of the greatest high school football rivalries in the country, and Friday night the two teams meet again in the Backyard Bowl.

Twenty thousand fans are expected to be at Chapman Stadium for the 58th meeting between the two storied programs.

The Trojans and Redskins have combined to win the last 20 state titles in class 6A, and they've met each other 11 times in the title game.

They've met twice in one season out of the 13 times, and nine times the loser of the Backyard Bowl has turned around and beaten other in the playoffs.

For both coaches, words can't describe how special this rivalry is.

"For myself personally, it's just been more of a blessing to be a part of it, to be on that train,” said Jenks head coach Allan Trimble. “You know there's so many things that have gone into it, and for me just to be blessed to be present in that has been really good. So I think someone sitting at home watching it on TV may not really understand the whole dynamic of the thing, of how good these two school districts really are."

Union head coach Kirk Fridrich said, "It's one of those things that when you're a part of it, you know exactly what it is but you sure can't explain it. The thing I'm most proud of, as Coach Trimble said, is the respect aspect of the game. You see some extremely hard playing, but you don't ever see anything that's personal foul related or something like that."   

So it's Jenks and Union for our Wendy's game of the week.