(KWMN)- 22.5 miles separates Cotter high School and Rushford-Peterson high school, yet the two schools football teams didn’t start regularly playing one another until 2017.
When the East Division in the Mid-Southeast conference was incepted in 2017, the Rushford-Peterson Trojans and Cotter Ramblers hadn’t played for many years prior. Now, in the same division, seeing each other once per regular season, the I-90 rivalry has grown.
Sometimes, rivalries are bred from big games. Head-to-head records that see teams go back and forth. In this case, the rivalry relies on geography, and familiarity.
“It’s one of those things that, you know, being so close to Winona allows these guys to know these kids that go to Cotter. They’re friends, they compete in all these other different sports,” Joel Hinke, Head Coach for Rushford-Peterson told the Winona Sports Network, admitting that, naturally, it’s a rivalry.
Rushford-Peterson has dominated Cotter for seven straight years, garnering a perfect 7-0 record in that timespan. This season, though, feels different than years past.
Cotter, with their biggest roster in over five years, is atop Rushford-Peterson in the East division with a 3-2 record. Rushford-Peterson sits at 2-3. Cotter is off to their best 5-game start in over 15 years. Rushford-Peterson, in year one under Joel Hinke, is searching to find the same success again that sent them to the State tournament in 2021, and eight other times in the last 23 seasons–winning three times with a second-place finish in another.
To add another wrinkle. Rushford-Peterson will be without usual starting QB Cayden Johnson, who’s responsible for over 500 yards of offense and seven touchdowns. Sophomore QB Cayden Lea will step in for the injured Johnson. Lea saw his first career start vs. Hayfield last week and saw some time earlier in the season against Bethlehem Academy.
Lea has 126 yards through the air, and another 117 on the ground, so far being responsible for four scores and one turnover.
Cotter enters the matchup fresh off of their second loss on the season to Fillmore Central, 42-14. The other loss for Cotter came at the hands of Goodhue. Both losses have come from teams ranked in the top ten in Class A.
Same goes for Rushford-Peterson. Who’ve lost to Fillmore Central, Goodhue and Blooming Prairie. All three of which in the top ten. Rushford-Peterson though is coming off a dominating 54-6 victory over Hayfield. A win that Hinke said the team was firing all across the board.
Tonight’s game should be competitive, certainly more competitive than seasons past when these two teams meet. In the seven straight wins since 2017, Rushford-Peterson has an average margin of victory of nearly 40 points, with the closest contest coming all the way back in 2017, when the Trojans topped the Ramblers 42-28.
Both teams are hungry for a W for their own respective reasons, but regardless of the winner, the I-90 rivalry should provide some fireworks.
Tune in live for the matchup between Rushford-Peterson and Cotter TONIGHT at 6:30 p.m. for pregame, with kickoff slated for 7:00 p.m. Only on the Winona Sports Network, FM 99.3 or streaming live online at winonaradio.com and on the Winona Radio App.
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