For seven exciting years, Lawrence High and Free State have gone head-to-head in game after game, match after match. Each time, each athlete has wanted to win because … well, because athletes have that instinct.

When it’s against the school on the other side of town, though, there’s just more to it.

Since Free State’s opening in 1997, a passionate rivalry has emerged between the Lions and Firebirds, and each game that pits LHS and FSHS only adds more to the emotions.

Today’s Lawrence High-Free State baseball game, by our records, will be the 100th head-to-head meeting between LHS and FSHS in varsity athletics. In defining head-to-head, the Journal-World has kept track of girls and boys tennis, volleyball, girls and boys soccer, football, girls and boys basketball, wrestling, baseball and softball. Swimming and diving, for example, hasn’t counted because the two squads haven’t clashed outside of meets involving more than just the two city teams. Same goes with cross country and track and field.

Our records have been kept up as accurately as possible by former high school writers Steve Rottinghaus, Rob Sinclair and Mike Miller, and now myself. We think these numbers are right, but there’s always a small chance that one of us (probably Sinclair) goofed somewhere.

All of us have kept an interested eye in the progress over the years, watching as the advantage bounced back and forth between LHS and FSHS. Now that number 100 is here, it’s time to share.

It’s been a relatively even rivalry, which is to be expected when all the athletes grow up in the same youth programs and what-not. The leaders so far are the Firebirds from Free State, who are 51-45-3 against Lawrence High heading into today’s baseball game. This year, Lawrence High is ahead by an 8-4-1 count.

As far as individual sports, they’ve been pretty competitive across the board, too. The most up-for-grabs sport so far has been wrestling, where LHS has a 4-3 advantage thanks to two straight victories in the city dual. Free State has had a firm grip in both boys and girls tennis, while Lawrence has shown superiority in softball and football.

So, with 99 down and number 100 today, which ones stick out?

As the J-W rookie, my memories are about as long as my new haircut. Obviously, the last two boys basketball games — the first a 79-73 LHS win, the second a 76-73 FSHS win — are both memorable, not only for the on-court heroics by both teams, but the unprecedented energy by both student bodies.

The 0-0 tie between the two boys soccer teams last September was a great stalemate of stingy defenses and oh-so-close opportunities on offense. The 2-0 LHS victory in volleyball this school year was an epic clash as well.

But I’m too new to have much of a say, so I went to two men who have seen most of the 99 showdowns.

“The first football game was really neat,” FSHS athletic director Steve Grant said. “We lost, but it was something people had been anticipating for a long time. It was really memorable to be apart of it.”

Indeed, Lawrence High beat Free State, 34-15, in the first city showdown football game on Oct. 24, 1997 at Haskell Stadium. Lawrence’s Adrian Garcia was the stud of that game, rushing for 130 yards and a touchdown.

“It was such a big deal with so many Lawrence people,” LHS athletic director Ron Commons said of that game. “Some sat on the north side, some sat on the south side. It was a memorable thing.”

Of course, Grant wasn’t going to let the reminiscing go by without mentioning some big Free State victories. Among them, what’s believed to be the first Free State win in the city showdown series, a 5-2 baseball victory over LHS in May of 1998. And then there’s the March 3, 2001 sub-state boys basketball final between LHS and FSHS. The winner advanced to the Class 6A state tournament the next week.

“It was when Keith Wooden was a sophomore,” Grant recalled. “We upset Leavenworth the night before, but they didn’t have (Wayne) Simien. He was hurt.

“Lawrence High was heavily favored to win that game. There was a big crowd, and that was our first shot at going to state in basketball.”

Lawrence, despite 24 points from standout Stephen Vinson, fell to Free State, 53-51, giving the Firebirds their first state tournament berth in boys basketball. As it turned out, LHS would advance the next season behind the solid guard play of Vinson and D.J. Watkins.

The memories stack up higher and higher as the games add up, so much so that Commons couldn’t even put his finger on any specific game. They’re all memorable to him.

Regardless, number 100 today has the potential to be an instant classic as well. The two baseball teams both have the potential to advance to state this year, and, coming off losses Tuesday, both are hungry for a victory no matter who they play. It should be a good one.

Of course, it’s getting redundant these days. Look through the first 99, and it’s hard to find an LHS-FSHS game that wasn’t one for the ages.

“When people fill up the stands, have a good time and leave feeling like they got their money’s worth,” Commons said, “that’s what it’s all about.”