This week, the schools and communities of Globe and Miami are eagerly anticipating Friday night, when a new chapter in Arizona’s second-longest high school football rivalry will be written. This year the annual “Battle for the Copper Kettle” game is at Globe High School’s Harbison Field, where the Tigers aim to reclaim the coveted kettle from the visiting Vandals.

“It's big for both communities, both alumni, both administrations; it's just big for everybody,” said Miami head coach Brandon Powell, adding that this will be the 101st year of the rivalry game.

Throughout the week – “Spirit Week” at both high schools – students, alumni and community members will be celebrating this fall tradition. Players repaint the “G” and the “M” on the town hills to their own school’s colors, and businesses paint their windows to display their Tiger or Vandal pride.

“I'm excited to see how the week goes, the energy and all that,” said Globe head coach Brady Hoff. “It should be fun.”

This will the first Copper Kettle game for Hoff, who is in his first year with the Tigers; he spent 22 years as an assistant coach in southern California and Scottsdale. “I think there's a lot of hijinks and trash talking between the two sides,” he said. “People out at the mines, the Miami guys and the Globe guys, talking and placing little side bets. It's like the Super Bowl for this area.”

Both schools will display that spirit Wednesday with “Mock Globe Day” and “Mock Miami – Dress Like a Vandal”; on Thursday students are encouraged to dress in their school colors.

It will be Powell’s eighth Copper Kettle game as a head coach, and his 27th as a coach on either side (he was an assistant with Globe for 19 years). “There's going to be a lot of excitement [this week], a lot of nerves, “ Powell said. “It's a big game for not just the kids, but for anybody who played in the past. We've got a lot of class reunions that will be showing up and going to the game.”

The “G” and “M” were built in 1934 as a way to end vandalism of school buildings, and the 48-pound Copper Kettle was made in 1947 by Inspiration Consolidated Copper Company. Pure copper from three mines – Inspiration, Miami Copper Company and Castle Dome Mine – went into its creation. The kettle is filled with small copper footballs engraved with the score of each year’s game.

“It's a really, really fun atmosphere when athletics is involved because the whole town comes together, and they recognize the kids and support them,” Hoff said. “It's been fun to be part of before. I’ve been part of rivalries in other towns, and I want to see how they do it up here.

“I get to participate in one of the biggest historical rivalries in Arizona. It's kind of neat for a guy who was a history teacher too; I like that whole history aspect of it.”

The rivalry has gone heavily in Globe’s favor, with the Tigers racking up 57 wins.

Powell said his players were excited for their shot to keep the kettle. “Last night as soon as the Chandler Prep game was over, we started discussing the way we should conduct ourselves this week,” he told the Silver Belt. “People may remember a couple of years ago we had some players do some things they shouldn't have over at the school and the field in Globe, and we ended up having to sit them for a quarter. We just have to remind the kids there are right ways to do the rivalry and there are wrong ways.”

“You want to keep as close to the schedule as possible, but you also have to understand that this is huge,” said Hoff. “You've got to manage and build that intensity through the week, so that's one of the challenges people don't really see sometimes.”

“They want it bad,” he said of his players, adding that it was the “last shot” for the seniors. “They've competed against those kids their whole lives; this is their last big competition against all the kids they've been playing with as Punchers, playing against at High Desert. That's one of their big milestones, so they're really excited. They're raring to go already.”

“When the Xs and Os come down to it, we haven't really finalized what we're doing this week as far as game planning goes,” said Powell. “No matter what the game plan is, we really have to make sure as a coaching staff that we're focused on the kids keeping their composure.”

He then turned to thoughts on the rivalry’s future. “I think it's time for the community to have one football team in it, to give the kids a better football experience,” Powell said. “This has been a long time running and I think it needs to be done sooner rather than later. My feelings on that are very strong right now, but as long as this game's still being played, I'm going to play it to win it.”

The game will kick off Friday at 7 p.m. It will also be the first of two “Ken Vargas Nights,” with Miami fans being encouraged to wear their white shirts honoring late Vandal basketball coach Ken Vargas. The Vandals players will also be wearing all-white uniforms, one of three new sets they have this season, as a tribute to Coach Vargas.