It’s been 46 years since the first “Local Bowl” was held between Cedar Crest and Lebanon High School football teams at Hershey Stadium on November 10, 1972, and the local rivalry remains arguably as heated as ever (although if not as competitive as at once was–this could be Cedar Crest’s seventh straight win).
47th Cedar Bowl
Friday, 7pm
Lebanon Stadium
In that first game, Cedar Crest lead from behind most of the game, only securing its victory with a last minute field goal. Lebanon Daily News sports editor Walt Long noted, “Future meetings between the two schools are certain to result in the local highlight of any football season, a game in which you can toss the records to the breeze. That was the case before the estimated 8,000 onlookers last night.”
Lebanon Sports Buzz has coverage of recent Cedar Bowls. Pat Huggins’ recently completed oral history on the game gives some great background and personal stories. If you’re banking on a Crest win you should keep in mind his warning that, “in a rivalry like the Cedar Bowl the past is not necessarily a reliable predictor of what is to come in the present and future.”
