Bowdon and Bremen could make the Hatfields and McCoys seem like a silly little schoolgirl spat.

Because for these storied rivals, there isn’t even a fine line. Just an absolute — you’re either with them or against them.

And come 7:30 Friday night at Warren P. Sewell Field, that line will be drawn with a swarm of red and black blazing on one side of the field, mirrored by a sea of blue and white draped across the other.

It’s the game that both teams, both schools, both communities wait all year to play. The buzz can be heard throughout each town, and it grows louder and louder the closer it gets to kickoff.

“This is the game that everybody talks about. All season. It don’t get no bigger. Two communities, two towns, two schools going after one another,” Bowdon coach Dwight Hochstetler said. “I can’t think of a bigger rivalry.”

It’s a night where emotions will be sky-high, to say the least.

“It’s always just nuts. Guys just talking junk the whole time,” said Bremen senior lineman Conner Mays.

And while Friday night’s game won’t decide the Region 6-A champion, as in most instances, this one still has a great deal on the line. Along with it being a big-time rivalry showdown, it will also be for second place in the region and a first-round home playoff game.

So for Bremen senior running back Christian Prichard, the rivalry tussle hasn’t lost any of its luster.

“Oh, yeah. Even though we know that Darlington got the Region 6-A set already, this game is treated as if it was a region championship game,” Prichard said. “This is battling for home seed. Basically to us, that’s the best we can get right now is second place. And that’s what we’re going to get. We’ve just got to work it out and get all the kinks out. Then we play at home.”

Mays can think of nothing better than to complete the four-year high school sweep of the Red Devils (8-1, 4-1 Region 6-A).

“It would be awesome to go all the way through high school and never lose to Bowdon,” Mays said. “That would be great. We’ve always played them. There’s no other game that compares to it. We see them in every sport. We see them on the weekends. We know all of them. It’s just a really good rivalry.”

On the flip side, Bowdon senior center Casey Ballard is ready to help swing the rivalry back in Bowdon’s favor.

“Well, since I was a freshman, they’ve beat us. But we beat them (20) years (in a row) before that,” Ballard said. “It kind of builds on you because you want to beat them really bad, get the winning streak going back.

“The last three years, they’ve shown up and outplayed us. This year, we’re trying to change that.”

Bremen defensive coordinator Randy Mouser said it’s always a difficult process of keeping the team focused on the game in front of it instead of looking ahead to the Bowdon game during the course of the season.

“We try to hold off as we go through the year and don’t put everything into this one thing. We say, ‘Hey, one week at a time,’” Mouser said. “Then on Friday night after Week 9, we say, ‘OK guys, you can talk about Bowdon.’”

And now that it is finally here, there’s quite a bit to talk about for both sides.

“This game has been the last game of the season for several years now and it’s always meant something. Not only because it’s a big-time rival, our rival, but it’s also been something for the region,” Mouser said. “So that makes it special. Just the fact that the tradition of the game, going as far back as anyone can remember, and that’s the game that everybody wants to talk about.”

Ballard said he can’t wait to be a part of the electric atmosphere come Friday.

“People all around. The bleachers. Two or three deep standing by the fence,” Ballard said. “You won’t find nowhere to park. It’ll be loud. You can definitely feel the tension in the air.”

Bowdon senior split end Terell Thornton said it’s all anyone’s been talking about around school and town.

“Everyone,” Thornton said. “It’s the best rivalry game in the state.”

And even though the game is at Bowdon, Mouser isn’t worried about any lack of fan support for his side.

“It’ll be an awesome atmosphere. It’s at their place, but that’s OK. It’s not far away,” Mouser said. “We know we’re going to bring a lot of fans. They’ll be fired up. We’ve been able and fortunate to beat them the last three years, and they feel like, hey, this is the year they’re going to get it turned back around. They’re going to be all excited. Our fans are going to be all excited.

“It’s what high school football is all about. No matter what level. From NFL down to rec ball, this is what it’s about. This is what you play for. It’ll be a great atmosphere. Nobody should be able to say, ‘Well, it’s 1-A ball.’ It’s just a big-time atmosphere.”

As far as how the two teams match up, the Red Devils are much quicker, but the Blue Devils (6-3, 4-1 Region 6-A) bring a physicality unlike anything Bowdon has seen thus far this season.

“Well, they’re like the Bremen of old. They’re very physical. They still got good size like they’ve had over the years. They line up toe-to-toe and they’ll come after you,” Hochstetler said. “You pretty much know what’s coming. They don’t back down. We know it’s going to be a physical ball game. Their goal is just to cram it down our throats. We know what to expect. We just got to line up toe-to-toe and stop them.”

Mouser said as far as the Red Devils being the quicker team, it’s been that way for years.

“They’re maybe not as big as in the past, but they’re every bit as fast or faster,” Mouser said. “It’s always speed with them. They’re very well-coached. They’re very well-disciplined at what they do. They’re going to play well on both sides of the ball and special teams.”

Bremen offensive coordinator Scott Hodges said it merely comes down to each team playing its own game and seeing which one can stop the other.

“We’re going to do what we do and we’re going to rely on each other. We’re going to love each other. And good things are going to happen,” Hodges said. “We’ve got to depend on our brothers. That’s what we’re going to do.”

Hochstetler noted that what makes this rivalry so unique is that both teams know what to expect and they just come at one another with everything they’ve got.

“They haven’t changed much over the years. We haven’t, either. So they pretty much know us just as well as we know them,” Hochstetler said.

And as far as added incentive or motivation, the home playoff game certainly adds a little spice to it. Even without it, though, the vitality would be the same.

“Nobody has to get fired up. Nobody has to give any speeches. When you play Bowdon, you know what you’re going to have to do to beat them,” Mouser said. “If you don’t do it, then they’re going to beat you.”

The battle for the first-round home playoff game certainly sits high on the priority list for both teams, too.

“Our kids are focused. They’re passionate about the game. They know what’s on the line,” Hodges said. “We’ve kind of said this is a battle for home. We win, we stay home. We don’t, we travel. We want to play in our stadium at least one more time.”

And you can bet the seniors do, especially.

“It means a lot,” Mays said. “I would do everything I can to play there again.”

With so much emotion being a part of this game, keeping a level head and not allowing the atmosphere to get the best of you will also be critical.

“Fundamentals are going to become key in this because if we play like we’re capable of playing, there’s no doubt in my mind this game will be ours,” Prichard said. “But if you mess around and make silly mistakes, they’ll take advantage of it because they have speed and they have some hard-nosed football players. You know, it’s just going to come down to who wants it the most.”

And without a doubt, expect both squads to be at full throttle from kickoff to the final horn on Friday night.

You can’t expect anything less when these two tangle.

“Bremen and Bowdon, it’s going to be a head knocker,” Ballard said.