The rivalry game between PV and Peninsula has possibly come to an end. It may be hard to believe, but there will be no rivalry football game this year.
Although PV has been playing them for several years, Peninsula has officially dropped down to the Pioneer League, so Sea Kings will not be in the same league as Peninsula for this upcoming season.
With that being the case, there will be no true way to know who the “King of the Hill” is.
The PV-Pen games have always been a big social event for both schools. Getting to see friends from the other school and playing against them is always something that students and staff look forward to.
“It’s a blast when the school, and created school community, can be unified in a common cause or rooting interest,” said Athletic Director Brian Shapiro.
“Sometimes those rivalries seem more important than they really are, but it’s just a whole lot of fun.”
The current seniors have to play their last year without a rivalry game, and the current freshmen might not ever get to know what the rivalry game looks like.
Senior Patrick Klink is a Red Tide captain and has played on the boys football team for four years. He has played against Peninsula the previous three years.
“I was sad when I heard about not having the rivalry game this year,” Klink said, “especially because it’s my senior year.”
The “King of the Hill” has been such an important part of PV High’s history, so its sudden conclusion comes as a shock to some people.
“I think there will be a new rivalry that we’ll have, I just don’t think it will be with Pen,” Klink said.
The biggest PV-Pen event has always been the rivalry football game.
“It’s weird that we aren’t playing them,” Varsity head football coach Guy Gardner said.
“I knew it wasn’t going to happen in a league game, but we’ll probably have to figure out how to do it in a non-league format.”
Coach Gardner has been coaching PV football for 16 years, and PV has beaten Peninsula in all 16 of these years.
Although the football game is not occurring this year, the PV-Pen history tells us that the best football team on the hill will continue to be Palos Verdes.