1896 to 2026: Goshen and Warwick Put the Spirit Trophy Back on the Line

Before Section IX classifications.

Before state playoffs.

Before the Erie Bell had a name.

Goshen and Warwick were already playing football.

The documented series dates to 1896. The Spirit Trophy has been attached to the annual regular-season meeting since 1975. And Saturday, one of Section IX football’s oldest traditions returns with two teams arriving from completely opposite directions.

Goshen is 3-0.

Warwick is 0-3.

The records could not look more different.

The rivalry has never cared much about records.

Saturday, September 26 · 10:00 AM · Warwick Valley High School
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A rivalry documented back to 1896

Football historian George St. Lawrence’s documented series, preserved by Section Nine Football, begins with a 6-0 Goshen win in 1896.

The schools played nine documented games from 1896 through 1902 before the modern stretch resumed in 1927.

Through the 2025 playoff meeting, the documented series stands:

Warwick 59 wins · Goshen 52 wins · 7 ties

That is 118 documented meetings entering Saturday.

The Spirit Trophy itself was created in 1975 by students in a Warwick woodshop class and has been awarded to the winner of the annual regular-season game ever since.

Open the documented historical series source →

2025 needed two games to settle the season — but only one decided the Trophy

Last fall, Goshen won the regular-season meeting 35-26.

That victory brought the Spirit Trophy back to Goshen.

Then the teams met again in the Class A quarterfinals.

Warwick won that game 29-6.

It was the first documented playoff meeting between the programs.

But the playoff win did not transfer the Spirit Trophy. The trophy remains tied to the annual regular-season rivalry game, so Goshen kept it after the postseason loss.

That means Saturday is not a rematch for the trophy from last year’s playoff game.

It is the next official Spirit Trophy game.

Goshen enters unbeaten

Goshen is 3-0 and No. 9 in the September 23 KOT845 Power 40.

The Gladiators have beaten John Jay Cross River 28-27, Kingston 12-7 and Monticello 41-0.

They are scoring 27.0 points per game and allowing only 11.3.

The Kingston win has become increasingly valuable because the Tigers are now 2-1 and sitting just outside the Top 10.

The Monticello shutout gave Goshen its most complete result yet.

Head coach John Stephens now takes an undefeated team into the type of rivalry game that can erase every comfortable assumption made during the week.

Warwick enters desperate

Warwick is 0-3.

The Wildcats have lost 28-19 to Wagner, 42-6 to Newburgh and 34-17 to Pine Bush.

They are scoring 14.0 points per game and allowing 34.7.

Those numbers explain the record.

The schedule explains why Warwick still has respect in the Power 40.

Newburgh is No. 3. Pine Bush just moved to No. 12 after beating Warwick. Wagner was an out-of-section opener.

But strength of schedule eventually has to turn into wins.

Head coach Greg Sirico gets a perfect opportunity Saturday.

Beat an undefeated rival. Take back the Spirit Trophy. Change the conversation around an 0-3 start in one afternoon.

The recent series has swung both ways

The last several meetings show why this rivalry refuses to stay one-sided.

Since 2018, the teams have traded control multiple times.

Goshen won three straight Spirit Trophy games in 2018, 2019 and Spring 2021.

Warwick answered in Fall 2021 and 2022.

Goshen took it back in 2023.

Warwick reclaimed it in 2024.

Goshen won it again in 2025.

Saturday continues that sequence.

The Spirit Trophy has survived eras, leagues and classifications

This rivalry has existed through the Little Three era, the Orange County League era, changing classifications, sectional playoffs and modern Section IX football.

One of the most remarkable parts of the series is how many different versions of high school football it has survived.

The schools played before modern helmets, before the state tournament and before either current stadium environment existed.

The Spirit Trophy gave that history a physical symbol in 1975.

More than half a century later, players who were not alive for most of the series still get to carry the same rivalry forward.

The rankings make this year’s game even stranger

Goshen is No. 9.

Warwick is No. 14.

Goshen is 3-0.

Warwick is 0-3.

On paper, the direction seems obvious.

But Warwick beat this program by 23 points in the playoffs less than a year ago.

That is the type of result that makes rivalry games dangerous for anyone trying to reduce them to current records.

What Goshen can gain

A fourth straight win would do more than keep the record perfect.

It would give Goshen another meaningful rivalry win and strengthen the argument that the Gladiators belong higher than teams being protected by stronger schedules and older championship résumés.

At 4-0 with wins over Kingston and Warwick, the Top 10 case would become even stronger.

What Warwick can change

Warwick cannot erase 0-3.

It can completely change how 0-3 is interpreted.

A win over undefeated Goshen would immediately become Warwick’s best result of the season.

It would also return the Spirit Trophy to Warwick and provide exactly the type of evidence KOT845 has been waiting for when weighing the Wildcats’ difficult schedule.

History does not guarantee anything Saturday

Warwick leads the documented series 59-52-7.

Goshen owns the Spirit Trophy.

Warwick won the last game.

Goshen won the last Trophy game.

Goshen is unbeaten.

Warwick is winless.

Every one of those facts is true at the same time.

That is why this rivalry has lasted this long.

From 1896 to 2026, Goshen and Warwick are still finding new ways to make the next meeting matter.

Follow the 2026 Spirit Trophy game in the KOT845 Game Center →

Explore the KOT845 Goshen–Warwick History Watch →