| Northern Illinois Sports Beat http://www.northernillinoissportsbeat.com |
| Kewanee/Princeton Princeton/Kewanee ... or Whatever You Want to Call It |
A history of the football rivalry between the two schools on Route 34 ...
By Cody Cutter
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Publisher
Tigers call it “Princeton/Kewanee.” Boilermakers call it “Kewanee/Princeton.”
It's been called other names before: “The Thanksgiving Game,” “Homecoming,” and “the game for the
trophy.” The football rivalry between Kewanee and Princeton, two hubs of their respective counties, may
not have as much luster as northern Illinois's other rivalries. However, it was an annual battle between two
communities around the same size and close to each other.
The football game has been played every year since 1919. The 2009 game will mark the end of a tradition,
at least for the time being. Kewanee will join the Big Rivers Conference, which has nine other teams, and
therefore making every regular season game a conference game. Princeton will remain in the NCIC.
It all began one-quarter century before the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers began their rivalry.
November 20, 1896
The first football game between Kewanee and Princeton was played on November 20, 1896. It was not a
high school game, but rather a game pitting the two city clubs. Nevertheless, it was the start of a football
war for years to come. The article from the November 26, 1896 Bureau County Republican wraps up the
game as follows:
PRINCETON DEFEATS KEWANEE.
___
The Foot Ball Game Last Friday Afternoon Full of Interest.
The Kewanee foot ball team after a warmly contested game with the Princeton eleven, were defeated last
Friday afternoon by a score of 4-0. Kewanee had the first kick off, but the ball was soon taken to the
Kewanee side of the line and the advantage during the rest of the game, or until nearly the close, seemed
to be with the Princeton side. At the close of the first half Princeton had the ball well along towards
Kewanee's goal, but time was called before a second score could be made.
The Kewanee team did some good work and made a number of good plays, but on our grounds they were
not an even match for the home team. Princeton outplayed them at every point during the first half and
kept the Kewanees fighting close to their goal most of the time. Princeton was allowed two advances of ten
yards each on foul tackels [sp] made by Kewanee. Reynolds, of Kewanee, made a good run around
Princeton's left end in the second half. A number of other starts were stopped before much ground had
been gained. Weller, of Princeton, did some good work, making big gains by running around the end three
times and also by “backing the center.” Zearing and Hensel, of Princeton, also made some good plays.
The touchdown by Princeton was made in the first half, but they failed to kick goal. Thirty minutes were
allowed for the first half, twenty for the second with an intermission of ten minutes.
Following is the line up:
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Publisher
Tigers call it “Princeton/Kewanee.” Boilermakers call it “Kewanee/Princeton.”
It's been called other names before: “The Thanksgiving Game,” “Homecoming,” and “the game for the
trophy.” The football rivalry between Kewanee and Princeton, two hubs of their respective counties, may
not have as much luster as northern Illinois's other rivalries. However, it was an annual battle between two
communities around the same size and close to each other.
The football game has been played every year since 1919. The 2009 game will mark the end of a tradition,
at least for the time being. Kewanee will join the Big Rivers Conference, which has nine other teams, and
therefore making every regular season game a conference game. Princeton will remain in the NCIC.
It all began one-quarter century before the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers began their rivalry.
November 20, 1896
The first football game between Kewanee and Princeton was played on November 20, 1896. It was not a
high school game, but rather a game pitting the two city clubs. Nevertheless, it was the start of a football
war for years to come. The article from the November 26, 1896 Bureau County Republican wraps up the
game as follows:
PRINCETON DEFEATS KEWANEE.
___
The Foot Ball Game Last Friday Afternoon Full of Interest.
The Kewanee foot ball team after a warmly contested game with the Princeton eleven, were defeated last
Friday afternoon by a score of 4-0. Kewanee had the first kick off, but the ball was soon taken to the
Kewanee side of the line and the advantage during the rest of the game, or until nearly the close, seemed
to be with the Princeton side. At the close of the first half Princeton had the ball well along towards
Kewanee's goal, but time was called before a second score could be made.
The Kewanee team did some good work and made a number of good plays, but on our grounds they were
not an even match for the home team. Princeton outplayed them at every point during the first half and
kept the Kewanees fighting close to their goal most of the time. Princeton was allowed two advances of ten
yards each on foul tackels [sp] made by Kewanee. Reynolds, of Kewanee, made a good run around
Princeton's left end in the second half. A number of other starts were stopped before much ground had
been gained. Weller, of Princeton, did some good work, making big gains by running around the end three
times and also by “backing the center.” Zearing and Hensel, of Princeton, also made some good plays.
The touchdown by Princeton was made in the first half, but they failed to kick goal. Thirty minutes were
allowed for the first half, twenty for the second with an intermission of ten minutes.
Following is the line up:
| Kewanee (black) and Princeton (gray) square off in 1919 (1920 Kewanite) |
Princeton.
Banschbach
F. Brown
Griswold
Rawson
Seelig
Ackerson
Horton
H. Brown
Weller
Zearing
Heusel
Banschbach
F. Brown
Griswold
Rawson
Seelig
Ackerson
Horton
H. Brown
Weller
Zearing
Heusel
| Position. Rt End Rt Tackle Rt Guard Center L. Guard L. Tackle L. End Quar. Back Rt. Hf. B. L. Hf. B. Full B. |
| Kewanee. Anderson McMullen Pollock Heap Winquist Reynolds Milligan Chubb Spicer Maul Ford |
Tom Trimble played Rt. End for Princeton
in the second half.
Referee, Leroy Hamilton.
Umpire, Thos. Joy.
Linesmen, John Bryant and Frank Bassett.
in the second half.
Referee, Leroy Hamilton.
Umpire, Thos. Joy.
Linesmen, John Bryant and Frank Bassett.
High School Origins: 1897-1911
The first game between the two high school teams took place in 1897 in which Princeton would win this
game 34-4. The next year, Princeton won once more, but this time in a closer game at 15-0.
Both Princeton and Kewanee's football programs began in 1895 through their respective Athletic
Associations. The Tigers, which is the nickname Princeton always had, was touted in the Republican as
one of the best programs in Illinois in the late 1890s. Princeton compiled a long winning streak from a loss
at Geneseo in 1895 to a loss against Dixon College in 1899 (back then high schools and colleges played
each other regularly).
Princeton's focus, since they were a powerful team, was set on northern Illinois's best programs, such as
LaSalle-Peru, Ottawa and Streator. This may have been why Princeton and Kewanee did not play in 1899.
Kewanee was unable to field a team in 1900, and therefore no game was played with Princeton.
In the first decade of the 20th Century, the Kewanee-Princeton game would build itself toward being the
premier game of these two teams. The Tigers won in 1901 (23-0) and 1902 (33-5) before Kewanee was
able to win their first game by the score of 11-6 at Princeton. No game was played between the two in 1904.
From 1906 to 1909, the two teams played each other twice. Kewanee swept the first two years and
Princeton swept the next two years.
In 1910, the Kewanee-Princeton rivalry began in Debate competition. The hot topic at the time was the
federal Income Tax, which was become law under the 16th Amendment three years later. The two schools
each had an affirmative and a negative team. The debates were split, but Princeton was able to win the
football game by a 6-3 score.
Big Nine Competition 1912-1940
One of the first athletic conferences to form in downstate Illinois was the Big Nine. It consisted of both
Kewanee and Princeton, along with Canton, Davenport, Galesburg, Moline, Monmouth and Rock Island.
Geneseo was a non-football member school, but participated in the Debate competitions. The first
mentioning of the Big Nine was in 1912.
A year before, in 1911, Princeton put together a solid season and were touted as the state champions.
Kewanee defeated them 9-0. The 1911 Kewanite describes the Kewanee win: “The most satisfactory
victory was that over Princeton, who had praised themselves, as being state champions.”
The Kewanite, the high school's yearbook, also described their games with Princeton as “deadly” (1913)
and “(Princeton) surely showed that they were out for blood. Well, they got all the blood they wanted, but it
was mostly their own.” (1916).
Kewanee won seven games to Princeton's five during the 1910s. No game was played in 1918, perhaps
due to the Influenza scare. Kewanee also went 5-1 during the first half of the 1920s. The second half of
that decade saw more importance put into the annual game.
In Kewanee's 23-20 win over Princeton in 1924, the home field held the biggest crowd to see a football
game in their school history. That would lead to the annual game being the Thanksgiving Game, which is
equivalent to today's Homecoming or Senior Night games. A then-record crowd of 3,000 saw the two teams
duke it out for a 0-0 tie in 1928. The Star-Courier, Kewanee's newspaper, sponsored a trophy for the
annual Kewanee-Princeton game beginning in 1926. The trophy would go to the team who was the first to
win three games in the series. The trophy tradition continues to this day.
A basketball trophy was introduced in 1928, which was won by Kewanee in 1930 by winning the first three
meetings between them and Princeton. Kewanee would win the Star-Courier trophy in 1931 in the same
manner.
Competition in the Big Nine Conference became one-sided by the 1930s. The larger Quad City schools
were becoming dominant in every sport. Canton had become a basketball powerhouse. Princeton was one
of the smaller schools and eventually stopped playing Kewanee in conference competition by 1935. The
Tigers were an independent team for the next couple of years before joining the North Central Illinois
Conference in 1939.
Both teams won five of the games during the 1920s. Kewanee won eight of ten games in the 1930s, and
would get better after the arrival Kewanee's greatest coach, H.F. Brockman.
Non-Conference Play: 1940-1957
With Princeton departing to the NCIC, the Big Nine was renamed the Northwest Conference. Kewanee also
became a member of the Illini Conference, playing with the Peoria-area schools. Back then it was common
for a school to be in more than one conference.
Since the two schools were not conference opponents anymore, the importance of the annual game
started to weaken, but was still strong. Princeton started to form a rivalry with Hall, who joined the NCIC in
1942. Kewanee formed a rivalry with Galesburg.
Call it the leadership of Coach Brockman, or the fact that Kewanee was playing against tougher
competition, Kewanee would amass a 11-1-1 record from 1934 to 1946. To get a closer glimpse of
Kewanee's dominance in the 1930s and 40s, Princeton did not score two touchdowns in a game pitting the
two from 1928 to 1949, and didn't win a game by two scores until 1954. From 1941 to 1947, Kewanee
outscored Princeton 164-6.
Princeton would step up their competition in the 1950s, and only be outscored by a touchdown at 151-145,
with the Boilermakers winning the 1950s series 5-4-1.
The Northwest Conference began to drift apart and have most of it's power centralized in the Quad Cities.
The Northwest broke up in 1957 with the formation of the Quad Cities Metro. Kewanee played as a full Illini
Conference member in 1957 before joining the NCIC the following year.
NCIC Crossover: 1958-1980
In 1958, both Kewanee and Princeton were in the same conference, but on opposite sides of football
competition. In the 1940s the NCIC grew to the point where two football divisions were necessary.
Princeton was on the Southwest Division, and Kewanee would join the Northeast Division. During the
1960s, a scheduling structure was beginning to take shape. The first three games were non-conference
games, with the rest being conference games except for the final week.
The importance of the annual Kewanee-Princeton surged during this time. Kewanee won the first six
games of the decade, before Princeton won the next four.
The 1970s and 80s would not only be a pivotal time for Kewanee High School, but their community as well.
Kewanee was home to Kewanee Boiler for a number of years. After decline during the 1970s and 1980s,
Kewanee Boiler filed for bankruptcy in 1986 and eventually ceased by 2000. The loss crippled the city as
thousands of people left the town and its economy left in freefall. Enrollment at Kewanee High School was
over 1,000 before the trouble began.
In the NCIC Crossover series from 1958 to 1980, the series was tied at 11-11-1.
In 1980, with Kewanee's enrollment falling, the NCIC allowed for a divisional switch to occur. Geneseo, who
won three state championships during the late 1970s, would move up to the larger Northeast Division.
Kewanee would go to the Southwest Division and be joined with Princeton for conference tilts for the first
time since 1936.
Princeton Takes Over: 1981-Present
Princeton defeated Kewanee in the first annual in 45 years fought for conference standing, 7-0. It would be
the first in a long string of annual games that would decide the divisional championship.
The following year Kewanee would win the Southwest Conference with a 4-1 record, with that loss coming
against the Tigers by the score of 23-22 in the first overtime in the rivalry's history (and the only one to
date).
The Tigers were beginning to become one of the better teams in the Southwest Division in the 1980s with
coaches Kim Courtwright and Max Gaumer leading the way. Kewanee would still remain competitive during
the 1980s with coaches with Dan Dickel and Lou Vitali. In the second decade of the IHSA's football playoff
system, Princeton qualified four times and Kewanee qualified three times.
Princeton would have their best season in school history in 1989. The Tigers, under first-year coach
Randy Swinford, went 8-1 during the regular season, beating Kewanee in the process 29-0. Princeton
reeled off playoff wins against Yorkville, division rival Hall, avenging the previous season's playoff loss
against Alleman, and beating Aurora Marmion to play in the Class 3A State Championship Game.
Princeton lost to Belleville Althoff in the championship 38-7.
Being a state caliber program was enough to gain a long-lasting edge in the annual game. From that point
on, Princeton is 14-5 in their games against Kewanee. The Boilermaker's wins came at points where they
comtended in the Southwest championship. In both 1993 and 1999, Kewanee went 8-1 in the regular
season under head coach Greg Christakos. The Boilermakers made it to the Class 3A state quarterfinal in
1999, beating Prairie Central and Woodstock Marian before falling to St. Joseph-Ogden 7-6. Kewanee
shut out Princeton 47-0, in what was the biggest margin of victory in the rivalry since winning 51-0 in the
first game for the Star-Courier Trophy, in 1926.
The turn of the second century of the Kewanee-Princeton rivalry was just like the first, with Princeton being
the winning team most of the time. The Tigers may not have been as dominant as they were in the early
1900s, but was still able to beat Kewanee in the important game for the Traveling Trophy.
Princeton would dominate in the 2000s and win eight of the first nine games by a combined score of 286-
122. The Tigers made the Class 4A Semifinal in 2002, a year when they beat Kewanee 50-7. They beat
Macomb, Prairie Central and Rochester in the playoffs before falling to the legendary Addison Driscoll
dynasty in the semifinal.
Kewanee defeated Princeton 19-7 in 2004, which is the final Boilermaker win over the Tigers to date.
In Week 5 of the 2006 season, Kewanee defeated Rock Falls in NCIC Lincoln play 12-7. This is Kewanee's
last football victory to date. The Boilermakers have lost 26 straight games leading up to Week 5 of the
2009 season.
Week 5 of the 2009 season will be the final time Kewanee and Princeton will get together in a varsity
football game for the time being. The Tigers will bring a 3-1 record to Kewanee in an effort to retain the
Traveling Trophy for an extended time in the PHS trophy case. Current Kewanee coach Chris Waca has
experienced both sides of the rivalry, having played for Gaumer at Princeton in the late 1980s. His
Boilermakers may not win the overall series, but can keep the trophy with a win.
Princeton leads the overall series 56-54-4. Over 3,400 points have been scored in the series. Friday's
game puts a halt to the sixth-oldest rivalry in Illinois. Hyde Park and Englewood, which do not play
anymore, began in 1889. Aurora's East and West, which is the oldest continuing rivalry in Illinois, began in
1893. Both Aurora West and Elgin, as well as Ottawa and Streator began their tilts in 1895. Arcola and
Tuscola began their “Cola Wars” in 1896.
Graduating classes in which one team swept the other in four straight games:
Kewanee: 1944-1947, 1954, 1964-1966
Princeton: 1983, 1992, 2004, 2009
Sources for scores and information: The IHSA Website, Kewanee yearbooks at the Kewanee Public
Library, Princeton yearbooks and BCR archives on microfilm at the Princeton Public Library, and more
yearly scores from the Kewanee Star-Courier.
Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat, and writes columns about Illinois high school
sports. He can be reached at Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com.
The first game between the two high school teams took place in 1897 in which Princeton would win this
game 34-4. The next year, Princeton won once more, but this time in a closer game at 15-0.
Both Princeton and Kewanee's football programs began in 1895 through their respective Athletic
Associations. The Tigers, which is the nickname Princeton always had, was touted in the Republican as
one of the best programs in Illinois in the late 1890s. Princeton compiled a long winning streak from a loss
at Geneseo in 1895 to a loss against Dixon College in 1899 (back then high schools and colleges played
each other regularly).
Princeton's focus, since they were a powerful team, was set on northern Illinois's best programs, such as
LaSalle-Peru, Ottawa and Streator. This may have been why Princeton and Kewanee did not play in 1899.
Kewanee was unable to field a team in 1900, and therefore no game was played with Princeton.
In the first decade of the 20th Century, the Kewanee-Princeton game would build itself toward being the
premier game of these two teams. The Tigers won in 1901 (23-0) and 1902 (33-5) before Kewanee was
able to win their first game by the score of 11-6 at Princeton. No game was played between the two in 1904.
From 1906 to 1909, the two teams played each other twice. Kewanee swept the first two years and
Princeton swept the next two years.
In 1910, the Kewanee-Princeton rivalry began in Debate competition. The hot topic at the time was the
federal Income Tax, which was become law under the 16th Amendment three years later. The two schools
each had an affirmative and a negative team. The debates were split, but Princeton was able to win the
football game by a 6-3 score.
Big Nine Competition 1912-1940
One of the first athletic conferences to form in downstate Illinois was the Big Nine. It consisted of both
Kewanee and Princeton, along with Canton, Davenport, Galesburg, Moline, Monmouth and Rock Island.
Geneseo was a non-football member school, but participated in the Debate competitions. The first
mentioning of the Big Nine was in 1912.
A year before, in 1911, Princeton put together a solid season and were touted as the state champions.
Kewanee defeated them 9-0. The 1911 Kewanite describes the Kewanee win: “The most satisfactory
victory was that over Princeton, who had praised themselves, as being state champions.”
The Kewanite, the high school's yearbook, also described their games with Princeton as “deadly” (1913)
and “(Princeton) surely showed that they were out for blood. Well, they got all the blood they wanted, but it
was mostly their own.” (1916).
Kewanee won seven games to Princeton's five during the 1910s. No game was played in 1918, perhaps
due to the Influenza scare. Kewanee also went 5-1 during the first half of the 1920s. The second half of
that decade saw more importance put into the annual game.
In Kewanee's 23-20 win over Princeton in 1924, the home field held the biggest crowd to see a football
game in their school history. That would lead to the annual game being the Thanksgiving Game, which is
equivalent to today's Homecoming or Senior Night games. A then-record crowd of 3,000 saw the two teams
duke it out for a 0-0 tie in 1928. The Star-Courier, Kewanee's newspaper, sponsored a trophy for the
annual Kewanee-Princeton game beginning in 1926. The trophy would go to the team who was the first to
win three games in the series. The trophy tradition continues to this day.
A basketball trophy was introduced in 1928, which was won by Kewanee in 1930 by winning the first three
meetings between them and Princeton. Kewanee would win the Star-Courier trophy in 1931 in the same
manner.
Competition in the Big Nine Conference became one-sided by the 1930s. The larger Quad City schools
were becoming dominant in every sport. Canton had become a basketball powerhouse. Princeton was one
of the smaller schools and eventually stopped playing Kewanee in conference competition by 1935. The
Tigers were an independent team for the next couple of years before joining the North Central Illinois
Conference in 1939.
Both teams won five of the games during the 1920s. Kewanee won eight of ten games in the 1930s, and
would get better after the arrival Kewanee's greatest coach, H.F. Brockman.
Non-Conference Play: 1940-1957
With Princeton departing to the NCIC, the Big Nine was renamed the Northwest Conference. Kewanee also
became a member of the Illini Conference, playing with the Peoria-area schools. Back then it was common
for a school to be in more than one conference.
Since the two schools were not conference opponents anymore, the importance of the annual game
started to weaken, but was still strong. Princeton started to form a rivalry with Hall, who joined the NCIC in
1942. Kewanee formed a rivalry with Galesburg.
Call it the leadership of Coach Brockman, or the fact that Kewanee was playing against tougher
competition, Kewanee would amass a 11-1-1 record from 1934 to 1946. To get a closer glimpse of
Kewanee's dominance in the 1930s and 40s, Princeton did not score two touchdowns in a game pitting the
two from 1928 to 1949, and didn't win a game by two scores until 1954. From 1941 to 1947, Kewanee
outscored Princeton 164-6.
Princeton would step up their competition in the 1950s, and only be outscored by a touchdown at 151-145,
with the Boilermakers winning the 1950s series 5-4-1.
The Northwest Conference began to drift apart and have most of it's power centralized in the Quad Cities.
The Northwest broke up in 1957 with the formation of the Quad Cities Metro. Kewanee played as a full Illini
Conference member in 1957 before joining the NCIC the following year.
NCIC Crossover: 1958-1980
In 1958, both Kewanee and Princeton were in the same conference, but on opposite sides of football
competition. In the 1940s the NCIC grew to the point where two football divisions were necessary.
Princeton was on the Southwest Division, and Kewanee would join the Northeast Division. During the
1960s, a scheduling structure was beginning to take shape. The first three games were non-conference
games, with the rest being conference games except for the final week.
The importance of the annual Kewanee-Princeton surged during this time. Kewanee won the first six
games of the decade, before Princeton won the next four.
The 1970s and 80s would not only be a pivotal time for Kewanee High School, but their community as well.
Kewanee was home to Kewanee Boiler for a number of years. After decline during the 1970s and 1980s,
Kewanee Boiler filed for bankruptcy in 1986 and eventually ceased by 2000. The loss crippled the city as
thousands of people left the town and its economy left in freefall. Enrollment at Kewanee High School was
over 1,000 before the trouble began.
In the NCIC Crossover series from 1958 to 1980, the series was tied at 11-11-1.
In 1980, with Kewanee's enrollment falling, the NCIC allowed for a divisional switch to occur. Geneseo, who
won three state championships during the late 1970s, would move up to the larger Northeast Division.
Kewanee would go to the Southwest Division and be joined with Princeton for conference tilts for the first
time since 1936.
Princeton Takes Over: 1981-Present
Princeton defeated Kewanee in the first annual in 45 years fought for conference standing, 7-0. It would be
the first in a long string of annual games that would decide the divisional championship.
The following year Kewanee would win the Southwest Conference with a 4-1 record, with that loss coming
against the Tigers by the score of 23-22 in the first overtime in the rivalry's history (and the only one to
date).
The Tigers were beginning to become one of the better teams in the Southwest Division in the 1980s with
coaches Kim Courtwright and Max Gaumer leading the way. Kewanee would still remain competitive during
the 1980s with coaches with Dan Dickel and Lou Vitali. In the second decade of the IHSA's football playoff
system, Princeton qualified four times and Kewanee qualified three times.
Princeton would have their best season in school history in 1989. The Tigers, under first-year coach
Randy Swinford, went 8-1 during the regular season, beating Kewanee in the process 29-0. Princeton
reeled off playoff wins against Yorkville, division rival Hall, avenging the previous season's playoff loss
against Alleman, and beating Aurora Marmion to play in the Class 3A State Championship Game.
Princeton lost to Belleville Althoff in the championship 38-7.
Being a state caliber program was enough to gain a long-lasting edge in the annual game. From that point
on, Princeton is 14-5 in their games against Kewanee. The Boilermaker's wins came at points where they
comtended in the Southwest championship. In both 1993 and 1999, Kewanee went 8-1 in the regular
season under head coach Greg Christakos. The Boilermakers made it to the Class 3A state quarterfinal in
1999, beating Prairie Central and Woodstock Marian before falling to St. Joseph-Ogden 7-6. Kewanee
shut out Princeton 47-0, in what was the biggest margin of victory in the rivalry since winning 51-0 in the
first game for the Star-Courier Trophy, in 1926.
The turn of the second century of the Kewanee-Princeton rivalry was just like the first, with Princeton being
the winning team most of the time. The Tigers may not have been as dominant as they were in the early
1900s, but was still able to beat Kewanee in the important game for the Traveling Trophy.
Princeton would dominate in the 2000s and win eight of the first nine games by a combined score of 286-
122. The Tigers made the Class 4A Semifinal in 2002, a year when they beat Kewanee 50-7. They beat
Macomb, Prairie Central and Rochester in the playoffs before falling to the legendary Addison Driscoll
dynasty in the semifinal.
Kewanee defeated Princeton 19-7 in 2004, which is the final Boilermaker win over the Tigers to date.
In Week 5 of the 2006 season, Kewanee defeated Rock Falls in NCIC Lincoln play 12-7. This is Kewanee's
last football victory to date. The Boilermakers have lost 26 straight games leading up to Week 5 of the
2009 season.
Week 5 of the 2009 season will be the final time Kewanee and Princeton will get together in a varsity
football game for the time being. The Tigers will bring a 3-1 record to Kewanee in an effort to retain the
Traveling Trophy for an extended time in the PHS trophy case. Current Kewanee coach Chris Waca has
experienced both sides of the rivalry, having played for Gaumer at Princeton in the late 1980s. His
Boilermakers may not win the overall series, but can keep the trophy with a win.
Princeton leads the overall series 56-54-4. Over 3,400 points have been scored in the series. Friday's
game puts a halt to the sixth-oldest rivalry in Illinois. Hyde Park and Englewood, which do not play
anymore, began in 1889. Aurora's East and West, which is the oldest continuing rivalry in Illinois, began in
1893. Both Aurora West and Elgin, as well as Ottawa and Streator began their tilts in 1895. Arcola and
Tuscola began their “Cola Wars” in 1896.
Graduating classes in which one team swept the other in four straight games:
Kewanee: 1944-1947, 1954, 1964-1966
Princeton: 1983, 1992, 2004, 2009
Sources for scores and information: The IHSA Website, Kewanee yearbooks at the Kewanee Public
Library, Princeton yearbooks and BCR archives on microfilm at the Princeton Public Library, and more
yearly scores from the Kewanee Star-Courier.
Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat, and writes columns about Illinois high school
sports. He can be reached at Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com.
1897 - Princeton 34, Kewanee 4
1898 - Princeton 15, Kewanee 0
1899 - No Game
1900 - No Game
1901 - Princeton 23, Kewanee 0
1902 - Princeton 33, Kewanee 5
1903 - Kewanee 11, Princeton 6
1904 - No Game
1905 - Princeton 5, Kewanee
1906 - Kewanee 10, Princeton 0
1906 - Princeton 6, Kewanee 4
1907 - Kewanee 36, Princeton 0
1908 - Princeton 10, Kewanee 0
1908 - Princeton 5, Kewanee 0
1909 - Kewanee 6, Princeton 2
1909 - Princeton 30, Kewanee 6
1910 - Princeton 6, Kewanee 3
1911 - Kewanee 9, Princeton 0
1912 - Kewanee 10, Princeton 0
1913 - Princeton 40, Kewanee 0
1914 - Kewanee 14, Princeton 0
1915 - Kewanee 21, Princeton 0
1915 - Kewanee 22, Princeton 7
1916 - Kewanee 14, Princeton 7
1916 - Kewanee 13, Princeton 0
1917 - Princeton 41, Kewanee 13
1917 - Princeton 21, Kewanee 20
1918 - No Game
1919 - Princeton 48, Kewanee 0
1920 - Kewanee 20, Princeton 0
1921 - Princeton 20, Kewanee 0
1922 - Kewanee 6, Princeton 0
1923 - Princeton 19, Kewanee 0
1924 - Kewanee 23, Princeton 20
1925 - Princeton 34, Kewanee 6
1926 - Kewanee 51, Princeton 0
1927 - Princeton 18, Kewanee 13
1928 - Kewanee 0, Princeton 0
1929 - Princeton 7, Kewanee 6
1930 - Kewanee 27, Princeton 0
1931 - Kewanee 21, Princeton 0
1932 - Kewanee 19, Princeton 0
1933 - Princeton 6, Kewanee 0
1934 - Kewanee 18, Princeton 0
1935 - Kewanee 14, Princeton 14
1936 - Kewanee 13, Princeton 7
1937 - Kewanee 20, Princeton 7
1898 - Princeton 15, Kewanee 0
1899 - No Game
1900 - No Game
1901 - Princeton 23, Kewanee 0
1902 - Princeton 33, Kewanee 5
1903 - Kewanee 11, Princeton 6
1904 - No Game
1905 - Princeton 5, Kewanee
1906 - Kewanee 10, Princeton 0
1906 - Princeton 6, Kewanee 4
1907 - Kewanee 36, Princeton 0
1908 - Princeton 10, Kewanee 0
1908 - Princeton 5, Kewanee 0
1909 - Kewanee 6, Princeton 2
1909 - Princeton 30, Kewanee 6
1910 - Princeton 6, Kewanee 3
1911 - Kewanee 9, Princeton 0
1912 - Kewanee 10, Princeton 0
1913 - Princeton 40, Kewanee 0
1914 - Kewanee 14, Princeton 0
1915 - Kewanee 21, Princeton 0
1915 - Kewanee 22, Princeton 7
1916 - Kewanee 14, Princeton 7
1916 - Kewanee 13, Princeton 0
1917 - Princeton 41, Kewanee 13
1917 - Princeton 21, Kewanee 20
1918 - No Game
1919 - Princeton 48, Kewanee 0
1920 - Kewanee 20, Princeton 0
1921 - Princeton 20, Kewanee 0
1922 - Kewanee 6, Princeton 0
1923 - Princeton 19, Kewanee 0
1924 - Kewanee 23, Princeton 20
1925 - Princeton 34, Kewanee 6
1926 - Kewanee 51, Princeton 0
1927 - Princeton 18, Kewanee 13
1928 - Kewanee 0, Princeton 0
1929 - Princeton 7, Kewanee 6
1930 - Kewanee 27, Princeton 0
1931 - Kewanee 21, Princeton 0
1932 - Kewanee 19, Princeton 0
1933 - Princeton 6, Kewanee 0
1934 - Kewanee 18, Princeton 0
1935 - Kewanee 14, Princeton 14
1936 - Kewanee 13, Princeton 7
1937 - Kewanee 20, Princeton 7
1938 - Kewanee 7, Princeton 6
1939 - Princeton 12, Kewanee 7
1940 - Kewanee 28, Princeton 6
1941 - Kewanee 28, Princeton 0
1942 - Kewanee 34, Princeton 0
1943 - Kewanee 14, Princeton 6
1944 - Kewanee 6, Princeton 0
1945 - Kewanee 33, Princeton 0
1946 - Kewanee 42, Princeton 0
1947 - Princeton 7, Kewanee 0
1948 - Kewanee 7, Princeton 7
1949 - Princeton 9, Kewanee 7
1950 - Kewanee 32, Princeton 12
1951 - Kewanee 41, Princeton 6
1952 - Kewanee 28, Princeton 20
1953 - Kewanee 21, Princeton 0
1954 - Princeton 28, Kewanee 6
1955 - Princeton 21, Kewanee 0
1956 - Princeton 13, Kewanee 12
1957 - Kewanee 7, Princeton 6
1958 - Princeton 20, Kewanee 7
1959 - Kewanee 12, Princeton 12
1960 - Kewanee 32, Princeton 12
1961 - Kewanee 13, Princeton 0
1962 - Kewanee 6, Princeton 0
1963 - Kewanee 14, Princeton 12
1964 - Kewanee 27, Princeton 0
1965 - Kewanee 19, Princeton 0
1966 - Princeton 26, Kewanee 0
1967 - Princeton 34, Kewanee 14
1968 - Princeton 14, Kewanee 12
1969 - Princeton 6, Kewanee 0
1970 - Kewanee 22, Princeton 13
1971 - Kewanee 30, Princeton 14
1972 - Princeton 42, Kewanee 28
1973 - Kewanee 32, Princeton 0
1974 - Kewanee 64, Princeton 28
1975 - Princeton 22, Kewanee 6
1976 - Princeton 22, Kewanee 20
1977 - Kewaee 28, Princeton 0
1978 - Kewanee 27, Princeton 20
1979 - Princeton 54, Kewanee 20
1980 - Princeton 35, Kewanee 8
1981 - Princeton 7, Kewanee 0
1982 - Princeton 23, Kewanee 22 OT
1983 - Kewanee 28, Princeton 20
1984 - Princeton 10, Kewanee 7
1985 - Kewanee 28, Princeton 8
1939 - Princeton 12, Kewanee 7
1940 - Kewanee 28, Princeton 6
1941 - Kewanee 28, Princeton 0
1942 - Kewanee 34, Princeton 0
1943 - Kewanee 14, Princeton 6
1944 - Kewanee 6, Princeton 0
1945 - Kewanee 33, Princeton 0
1946 - Kewanee 42, Princeton 0
1947 - Princeton 7, Kewanee 0
1948 - Kewanee 7, Princeton 7
1949 - Princeton 9, Kewanee 7
1950 - Kewanee 32, Princeton 12
1951 - Kewanee 41, Princeton 6
1952 - Kewanee 28, Princeton 20
1953 - Kewanee 21, Princeton 0
1954 - Princeton 28, Kewanee 6
1955 - Princeton 21, Kewanee 0
1956 - Princeton 13, Kewanee 12
1957 - Kewanee 7, Princeton 6
1958 - Princeton 20, Kewanee 7
1959 - Kewanee 12, Princeton 12
1960 - Kewanee 32, Princeton 12
1961 - Kewanee 13, Princeton 0
1962 - Kewanee 6, Princeton 0
1963 - Kewanee 14, Princeton 12
1964 - Kewanee 27, Princeton 0
1965 - Kewanee 19, Princeton 0
1966 - Princeton 26, Kewanee 0
1967 - Princeton 34, Kewanee 14
1968 - Princeton 14, Kewanee 12
1969 - Princeton 6, Kewanee 0
1970 - Kewanee 22, Princeton 13
1971 - Kewanee 30, Princeton 14
1972 - Princeton 42, Kewanee 28
1973 - Kewanee 32, Princeton 0
1974 - Kewanee 64, Princeton 28
1975 - Princeton 22, Kewanee 6
1976 - Princeton 22, Kewanee 20
1977 - Kewaee 28, Princeton 0
1978 - Kewanee 27, Princeton 20
1979 - Princeton 54, Kewanee 20
1980 - Princeton 35, Kewanee 8
1981 - Princeton 7, Kewanee 0
1982 - Princeton 23, Kewanee 22 OT
1983 - Kewanee 28, Princeton 20
1984 - Princeton 10, Kewanee 7
1985 - Kewanee 28, Princeton 8
1986 - Princeton 28, Kewanee 14
1987 - Kewanee 26, Princeton 8
1988 - Princeton 27, Kewanee 20
1989 - Princeton 29, Kewanee 0
1990 - Princeton 22, Kewanee 7
1991 - Princeton 28, Kewanee 14
1992 - Kewanee 21, Princeton 19
1993 - Kewanee 20, Princeton 9
1994 - Princeton 24, Kewanee 13
1995 - Kewanee 22, Princeton 21
1996 - Princeton 32, Kewanee 6
1997 - Princeton 34, Kewanee 12
1998 - Princeton 8, Kewanee 0
1999 - Kewanee 47, Princeton 0
2000 - Princeton 42, Kewanee 6
2001 - Princeton 23, Kewanee 14
2002 - Princeton 50, Kewanee 7
2003 - Princeton 21, Kewanee 12
2004 - Kewanee 19, Princeton 7
2005 - Princeton 42, Kewanee 14
2006 - Princeton 42, Kewanee 18
2007 - Princeton 26, Kewanee 12
2008 - Princeton 33, Kewanee 20
2009 - ???
1987 - Kewanee 26, Princeton 8
1988 - Princeton 27, Kewanee 20
1989 - Princeton 29, Kewanee 0
1990 - Princeton 22, Kewanee 7
1991 - Princeton 28, Kewanee 14
1992 - Kewanee 21, Princeton 19
1993 - Kewanee 20, Princeton 9
1994 - Princeton 24, Kewanee 13
1995 - Kewanee 22, Princeton 21
1996 - Princeton 32, Kewanee 6
1997 - Princeton 34, Kewanee 12
1998 - Princeton 8, Kewanee 0
1999 - Kewanee 47, Princeton 0
2000 - Princeton 42, Kewanee 6
2001 - Princeton 23, Kewanee 14
2002 - Princeton 50, Kewanee 7
2003 - Princeton 21, Kewanee 12
2004 - Kewanee 19, Princeton 7
2005 - Princeton 42, Kewanee 14
2006 - Princeton 42, Kewanee 18
2007 - Princeton 26, Kewanee 12
2008 - Princeton 33, Kewanee 20
2009 - ???
| THE RIVALRY - BY YEAR (Credit: Kewanee Star-Courier, 1901 Edit: Cody Cutter via BCR Archives) |
| Princeton-Kewanee Rivalry: Conference Musical Chairs X: The Kewanee-Princeton Edition Game Article of the Final Meeting |
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| Those Who Know Northern Illinois High School Sports Know about NISB! |
