Leading up to the much-anticipated kickoff between City High and West High, some students weren’t thinking about the legendary rivalry.

“I’m not taking any sides here,” City High senior Deandre Irby said while playing a friendly game of catch with students decked out completely in red or green — coming from both City and West.

But after City’s Little Hawks defeated West’s Trojans, 49-10, on Sept. 17, the students — some from City painted in red and spelling out “Go City” — may not have been so amicable.

Off to a good start in the 41st matchup, West held off City High’s advances for just more than nine minutes, and with 5:43 left in the first quarter, running back Nick Reuter made a 9-yard sprint in for the first of City’s three touchdowns of the quarter.

Four minutes later, running back Ellis Jordan scored the second touchdown. The standout play of the game, though, was literally in the final moment of the first quarter as wide receiver John Chelf caught quarterback A.J. Derby’s pass and ran for a 61-yard touchdown just as the scoreboard ticked down to zero.

As the second quarter began, the score read 21-0, and the game continued to remain one-sided until halfway through the second quarter, when West’s sophomore Alex Troester kicked a 35-yard field goal, finally putting the Trojans on the scoreboard.

“West’s defensive and offensive lines aren’t great this year — it’s bad for them, good for us,” City High senior Alex Koch said.

Five minutes into the second half, Jordan again hit the end zone, cushioning the Little Hawks’ lead to 42 points. Minutes later Reuter once more found himself in the end zone, scoring City’s final touchdown of the game.

As the fourth quarter began, the West’s student section was nearly half that of the game’s start, but the score seemingly did not diminish their spirits. Saving the Trojans from a shut out, West’s quarterback Charles Rogers scored his team’s only touchdown of the game. Troester’s kick for the Trojans rounded the team’s score up to an even 10.

As the clock ran out a final time, City’s cheering section roared as senior lineman Jesse Leyendecker grabbed “The Boot” — the cross-town trophy awarded to the winner of the City/West contest — which will now spend its fifth year at City.

Head coach Dan Sabers remarked: “[The] kids are so focused. We’re a veteran ball club, and we showed that tonight.”