When Greene County and Perry tee up the football tomorrow night at newly refurbished Dewey Field in Perry, it will mark not only the start of the 2018 high school football season, but the renewal of one of Iowa’s oldest high school football rivalries. Jefferson High lost to the Perry YMCA team in 1898. In 1928, the Jefferson and Perry Rotary Clubs donated a cowbell to reside with the winning team, and that’s been the case for 90 years, with only a very rare stoppage of the series.

Greene County has the overall advantage 56-29-2, but Perry won in overtime at Dewey Field last year. The game can be heard on KG98 and streamed on www.raccoonvalleyradio.com with coverage starting at 6:30 p.m. and kickoff at 7:30 p.m.

The Rams are in their second season under the direction of head coach Mitch Moore. This is also the first season of a revamped playoff qualifying method, which takes under consideration each teams record, their opponent’s record, and their opponents’ opponents’ record. Plus, all nine regular season games now count toward making the playoffs.