Here are a few tidbits of information concerning the rivalry, things you probably didn't give a thought about, but now that you know them, you probably feel a little better about yourself.
--The J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome (originally called the Ensphere), on the campus of Northern Arizona University, opened in September 1977 and began hosting high school and college games, including the rivalry game, that same autumn. In previous years, it was played at Lumberjack Stadium and, in 1975 and 1976, Cromer Stadium at Coconino High. Flag High has never hosted the rivalry game.
--Craig Holland, Eagles head coach from 1985 to 1990 and 1994 to 2006, holds the distinction of having won the most rivalry games (10) and lost the most (9).
--Though accurate counts are hard to come by, attendance for rivalry games in the late-1970's and early-1980's were estimated regularly at or over 10,000; the 1983 game, for example, had an estimated attendance of 14,000. Before renovation in 2010, the Skydome had a permanent seating capacity of 15,000 (it is now 10,000). The population of Flagstaff at that time was approximately 35,000.
--Sturgeon Cromer, superintendent of public schools from 1947 to 1971, lends his name to both Cromer Stadium and the Cromer Awards, given to the outstanding player from each school in the rivalry game from 1971 to 1976.
--While the game has become an end-of-season tradition, it was played at the start of the season the first five times. Flag High played in Class AAA prior to 1974, which meant the two teams played in different conferences (Coconino began play in 1968 in AA). Once Flag High made the move to AA, the two schools thereafter always played in the same conference and division. Because high schools and colleges traditionally play conference games at the end of the season, the schools played each other at the start of the season during their non-conference schedule.
--As of this writing (2/11/13), a game record page is in the works, but only 37 of the 43 games have been fully recorded and it is therefore incomplete; it is enough, however, to present trends. The top rushing performances are dominated by Eagles runningbacks, with Caesar Polk running for 260 yards in 1991. Though offenses traditionally run the ball in this game, Coconino is the more likely of the two to have an occasional passing attack; as a result, passing stats favor the Panthers, with Audie McKee passing for 354 yards in the 1983 game, 230 to Phillip Miller.
--Early in the rivalry, a "tradition" was noted that the first team to score tended to win the game. It held for the first seven games, the streak broken in 1976. After 44 games, the first team to score has won 34 times (77.3%).
--In the eleven seasons (1974-1984) the two teams competed in the old AA North, they combined for seven division titles and five Class AA state championships. The two teams combined for a .773 regular season winning percentage, with Coconino sporting an 80-24-3 record, Flag High going 83-22-2.
--Katie Tribble kicked a 42-yard field goal in Flag High's 17-0 win over Coconino in 1995; it is not only the longest field goal by an Eagle in the Rivalry Series, but, at the time, it was the second longest field goal in the history of competitive American football, on any level, by a female player.