There have been many, many changes in the United States in the last 100 years, but one thing still in existence today that was here a century ago is the North Tonawanda versus Tonawanda football game. This year marked the 100th game in the rivalry’s history and marked another big win for Coach Eric Jantzi’s North Tonawanda Lumberjacks.

MVP

Mike Tuzzo
Tonawanda

SCHOLAR ATHLETES

Mike Tuzzo

North Tonawanda

Mike Tuzzo is a two-year starter at quarterback on the varsity football team and a three-year starter on the varsity baseball team. He was a 2009 pre-season All-Western New York nominee. Mike has a 95% GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society. He plans to study architecture while pursuing college athletics after graduation.
Phil Lockhart

Tonawanda

Phil Lockhart is a two-year varsity football starter for Tonawanda and one of this year’s co-captains. He has also won the coach’s award on the varsity track and field team. His 96.97 GPA has him ranked fourth out of 154 students in his class. He is a member of the jazz and concert band as well as the National Honor Society.

HALL OF FAME

Nick Sebek

North Tonawanda

Nick Sebek played in the rivalry from 1944-1945. As a senior, he led the Lumberjacks to a 14-6 victory over the Warriors and kicked the go ahead extra point in the game. After high school, Nick went on to play for Indiana University and was drafted in 1950 by the Washington Redskins. After his playing career ended, he went on to be an assistant coach at North from 1958-1968 and is a member of both the North Tonawanda Hall of Fame and Indiana University Hall of Fame.
Clinton Small

Tonawanda

Clinton Small is a legend in the Tonawanda area. Mr. Small was a 1934 graduate of Tonawanda High School, where he played football, basketball, and baseball. He coached the football team at Tonawanda from 1949-1973 and baseball from 1947-1979. He won five championships in football and five in baseball, and did not have a losing record between 1954 and 1979. The stadium at Tonawanda was named in his honor in 1973. Accepting for Mr. Small was his son, Dr. Thomas Small.

GAME SUMMARY

The game was the last event in a weeklong celebration around the Tonawanda community celebrating the 100th anniversary of this historic rivalry. The final score of 68-7 was a lopsided battle, but the spirit that both schools showed throughout the evening was remarkable. North Tonawanda Senior Quarterback, Mike Tuzzo, was the star of the night from beginning to end, winning awards before and after the game. Tuzzo received the Marine Corps sponsored Great American Rivalry Series Scholar Athlete Award before the game and won the Great American Rivalry Series Game Most Valuable Player Trophy after the game. Tuzzo's 234 yards on the ground running and three (3) touchdown runs all took place in the first half and paced the Lumberjacks to an almost effortless 48-7 lead at the half. In the second half, the Lumberjacks called the dogs off and put in the second string players and kept on rolling scoring an additional 20 points in the third quarter putting the game away and the victory in the 100th game of the series in the record book.

GAME GALLERY