USA TODAY High School Sports Gives Fans A Chance To Vote On The Nation's Best High School Football Rivalry With $10,000 Up For Grabs

Voting for top rivalry in each state open now at usatodayhss.com; Overall national winning rivalry will earn $5,000 for each school

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USA TODAY Sports Media Group

Nov 19, 2012, 08:30 ET

MCLEAN, Va., Nov. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- USA TODAY High School Sports, the nation's leading source for high school sports news and information, today kicks off a month-long online vote for fans to determine the most deep-seated high school football rivalry in the U.S.

Beginning today and running through Dec. 19, USA TODAY High School Sports will feature the biggest rivalries in each state online at www.usatodayhss.com, as determined by the editorial staff of USA TODAY High School Sports.

The two teams to comprise America's best high school football rivalry will earn $10,000 ($5,000 to each school) in athletic department funding, as well as national coverage of the game by USA TODAY and a specially-designed trophy to be held by the rivalry's winner each year going forward.

"High school football is more defined by passionate rivalries than probably any other sport," said Derek Samson, Director of Content for USA TODAY High School Sports. "There are so many great and long-standing rivalries—from East Coast states like New Jersey's Don Bosco Prep and Bergen Catholic, to Permian and Lee in Texas, which has inspired books and Hollywood movies—and just as many opinions on which one is the most intense. We may not settle the argument, but we can at least give schools and football fans across the country a chance to make their case."

Beginning today and running through Dec. 3, the three biggest rivalries in each state and the District of Columbia will be featured online at www.usatodayhss.com. The rivalries with the most online votes for each state will move onto a regional round which begins Dec. 5. Online voting for that round will end on Dec. 12.

The top four rivalries in each region will then be showcased on USA TODAY High School Sports for one final week of voting through Dec. 19 when the nation's top high school football rivalry is crowned.

For more information, visit USA TODAY High School Sports.

The USA TODAY Sports Media Group encompasses all sports initiatives across USA TODAY Sports and Gannett's more than 100 well-known local media brands. It also includes the sports photography service U.S. Presswire, USA TODAY High School Sports and the hundreds of sites within USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties such as thebiglead.com and mixed martial arts site MMAjunkie.com, among others. USA TODAY is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI).

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SOURCE USA TODAY Sports Media Group