37 Years Later, Winnebago and DuPec Renew Silver Bucket Rivalry

After a 37-year absence, one of the most memorable rivalries in northern Illinois high school football is coming back.

A Rivalry Returns to the Field

Winnebago and DuPec will meet on Friday night (September 4), with the Silver Bucket once again on the line. The schools last played in 1989, when Winnebago came away with the victory and the trophy.

The Silver Bucket has remained in Winnebago's trophy case ever since. But this time, a coach on the DuPec sideline has a very personal connection to that last game.

Former Winnebago Player to DuPec Coach

DuPec coach Corey Anderson was a junior playing for Winnebago in 1989 when the Indians won the last Silver Bucket showdown. Now, decades later, Anderson will try to take that trophy away from his alma mater.

"I have orange Winnebago blood running through me," Anderson told the Q Morning Crew with Johnny V. and Lil' Zim. "So I am still pretty faithful to the Bago Indians, for now."

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Coach Anderson admitted that competing against his former school will feel strange, especially because his wife is also a Winnebago alum. "It is different, I'll be honest," he said. "Thinking about standing on the other sideline...it'll be different for sure, but exciting."

A Rivalry With Plenty of History

Anderson remembers just how intense the rivalry could become. While players from both communities were often friends, that friendship sometimes disappeared once the teams took the field.

"It would get really chippy where it may be a day or two after the game before we're speaking again," Anderson recalled.

He also remembered hearing about some of the more infamous rivalry antics, including an incident in which Roundup was sprayed on Winnebago's football field to kill the grass, with students from Pecatonica as the likely suspects.

Who Gets the Silver Bucket This Year?

This year's rivalry appears to be more civil, but Coach Anderson isn't hiding his goal. "I'm just saying we're leaving with that bucket," he told the Q Morning Crew.

Anderson expects a competitive game and praised the talent on the Winnebago roster, saying DuPec will have its "work cut out" for them.

Coach Anderson said that Friday represents more than another football game. It's a chance to return to where his football story began, but this time on the opposite sideline, trying to rewrite the rivalry's history.

LISTEN to DuPec Football Coach Corey Anderson with the Q Morning Crew👇