For the past 40 years, Athens High School has always opened its football season with a game against Decatur High.

Considered one of the biggest rivalries in north Alabama high school football, the season opener is celebrated by Athens High students with a pep rally on the Limestone County Courthouse Square.

But this year, the Golden Eagles and the Decatur Red Raiders will not meet until the fourth week of the season. That’s because Decatur was dropped from Class 6A to 5A after the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s class realignment.

Instead, Athens High’s opponent for the first game will be East Limestone High School, marking the first time the city team and the county team have met on the football field.

Athens High Principal Chris Bolen said the students will carry on their season-opening tradition when the Golden Eagles hold a pep rally on the east side of the square at 3 p.m. Friday afternoon.

“We’re going to start football season the same way we always do, with the students – and anyone else in the community who wants to participate – meeting in the square for our first pep rally,” Bolen said. “The only thing that’s going to be different is our opponent.”

Bolen said it’s important for students to carry on traditions because it gives them a sense of ownership. He believes school traditions are an important part of a community and they help pass down a sense of pride.

“Every school has certain traditions that students pass down through the generations,” Bolen said. “Athens is a school and community that’s blessed with several traditions and every one of them is special.”

So exactly how did the tradition of a pep rally on the town square get started? The event has been going on for so long that most of the current students don’t know how it started. In fact, most of their parents don’t remember how the event started.

The first Athens High event on the square wasn’t a pre-game rally —it was a celebration after a season-opening win against Decatur.

The story that most people will tell you is that Athens scheduled Decatur that season as a game they were supposed to win.

The Golden Eagles went to Decatur that year and did what they were supposed to do and when the players and students got back to town, they threw a party and danced on the square.

The next season, Athens students converted their season-opening party into a pep rally.

Bolen said he believes it is important to keep the tradition in tact even though Athens isn’t playing Decatur.

“When you have a tradition that has lasted as long as this one has, you don’t want to break it,” he said.

Earlier this summer, Athens Mayor Dan Williams made a statement on television that he would like to have a battle of the bands between Athens High School and East Limestone High School during the pep rally to celebrate the first-ever meeting of the teams.

Bolen and East Limestone Principal Dennis Black said they were never asked about having their bands perform on the square.

“We are going to have our own pep rally,” Black said. “We always have a pep rally in our gym for the opening game of the season and that’s what we are going to do this year.”

East Limestone will start its pep rally at 2:30 p.m. Friday and anyone in the community is welcome to come, Black said.