Schools Enjoy Friendly Rivalry Competition Between Medical Lake, Cheney Teams Runs Deep

Josh Calvert is a Blackhawk to the bone.

The Cheney High School senior didn’t hide it Friday night.

For the Blackhawks’ nonleague football game against rival Medical Lake at Eastern Washington University’s Woodward Stadium, Calvert dyed his hair half red and half black. He painted a black beard on his face and wore a T-shirt that read “CHS owning ML since 1961” on the front and “Blackhawks eat Cardinals” on the back.

Calvert’s extended family lives in both Cheney and Medical Lake, and loyalties are split between the two teams.

“It’s like a family civil war game,” said Calvert, a Cheney baseball player and senior class representative. “We brag about who wins in basketball or football.

“Bragging rights in football are really huge in the family.”

Calvert goes to every game - football and basketball and calls himself one of the school’s biggest fans.

“I love Cheney sports,” he said. “I love going all-out for a game. I try to top it each week.

“Next week I will do something more crazy. But this one was even more special.”

The rivalry is definitely alive.

Last year was the first time the teams had played since 1984. Cheney made it two in a row after dominating the fourth quarter Friday on the way to a 37-26 win.

“It’s huge,” said Medical Lake running back Alexis Alexander. “This game is more important than a state championship game.

“All the guys have been friends since seventh grade.”

And the coaches are longtime friends, too. Cheney coach Tom Oswald installed a sprinkler system for Medical Lake coach John Giannandrea a few years back.

“It’s a good game that’s close, and it’s good for both communities, especially being that it’s nonleague.” Oswald said.

The players don’t know as much about the rivalry as the parents, Giannandrea said.

Ray and Betty Songaylo, ages 80 and 77 respectively, know plenty about it.

They are big Cheney supporters and also know fans in the Medical Lake bleachers. Betty Songaylo bowls with the mother of Medical Lake junior Dustin Haynes.

The Songaylos live near the airport. Betty graduated from Cheney in 1940 and had a son and daughter who both went through Cheney. Her grandson, Seth Morris, is an assistant coach for the Blackhawks. He graduated from Cheney in 1999.

“That’s the trouble: We have friends on both teams,” Ray Songaylo said. “(The rivalry) has been here for ages.”

“You always get up for them,” Cheney senior Adam Pegg said after his two-touchdown performance. “It’s nice to beat them.”

Medical Lake plays host to Riverside on Friday night in its Great Northern League opener while Cheney travels to Sandpoint.