ABILENE, Texas (BCH Sports) – The Crosstown Showdown is coming up on Friday night.

The fourth-ranked Abilene High Eagles and the twenty-fourth ranked Cooper Cougars get together for the 63rd time.

This rivalry is unique to just a handful of cities that have just two high schools in the same school district.

It’s a special game.

It’s a special environment.

It’s a special thing to be a part of, and the coaches at both schools know it.

Aaron Roan said, “There are a lot of kids that didn’t get to play in an arena like this. It’s pretty special. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t. At the end of the day, it’s about us getting better as a football team, but you can get better in a pretty special way. Big picture, what we look at, teams that make big runs are going to play in front of big crowds.”

Mike Fullen said, “We preach, ‘One town, one family.’ It’s a healthy competition, and this week, it’s one of those deals. You get in the backyard playing corn hole, and it doesn’t matter if it’s against your brother or your family, you want to beat them worse than somebody that you don’t know as well as you know somebody in town.”

Cooper leads the series with 36 wins.

Abilene High has 25 victories, including a win in last season’s showdown.

The only tie came way back in 1965 when the Cougars and Eagles battled to a 0-0 tie.

This year’s Crosstown Showdown kicks at 7 p.m. at Shotwell Stadium.