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The 2024 high school football season is here and East Valley families are in for another exciting year.
Today we’ve got the ultimate guide to the East Valley’s biggest rival game: the Mountain View Toros versus the Red Mountain Mountain Lions.
I may be a little biased, but this game is something special. It has been for over half of my life, and all of my son’s life, and he isn’t on the team (yet, he’s four). Our Mountain Lion blood runs deep, and this game is what Friday Night Lights nostalgia is made of.
XO,
Amy, East Valley Moms owner
Battle of Brown Road: Lions vs Toros
The ultimate rival game of high school football in the East Valley, this game draws out alumni, neighbors and community members to see who will take home the trophy this year.
Red Mountain High School and Mountain View High School are only a few short miles apart, and that’s what makes this football rivalry, Battle of Brown Road, such a unique one.
Growing up here, I had friends at both schools. I knew girls cheering for both teams; saxophone players on both marching bands as I was marching for the Mountain Lions.
Today, I have family coaching the players on the field, making going to the game more like a family meeting than just something to do.
And as a local business and activity community member, you bet I’m supporting those kids on the field– bringing Gatorades to this year’s players during the scoring summer scrimmages, pointing my tax donations towards the booster program. (See my recent collaboration with Frys Food to support my Mountain Lions here).
I saw my parents do this, for the very same school when I grew up; witnessing my parents create a nonprofit status for the booster club–using their MBA backgrounds to provide local businesses a reason to be part of the high school pride (and rivalry) through supporting the booster clubs for football, band and cheer.
Football and Its Community Ties
As a small business owner in East Mesa now, I am often asked by community members, fellow small business owners and community leaders: “What high school did you go to–what year did you graduate?” And that breaks down barriers, and draws out friendly bantering if there’s a Mountain View Toro alumni in the conversation.
The admission to being part of the Red Mountain/Mountain View rivalry openly puts our hearts on our sleeve for this slice of the Greater Phoenix area; a love for the citrus fields along Brown Road between the two campuses; a respect for the family-centric core values of the community here; a hope for the future students to spread their wings, then return to their hometown where they can give back to the next generation of Toros or Mountain Lions.
The Battle of Brown Road is a community tie; A bond for the futures shaped at each school and cultivates a deep love for East Mesa as a whole.
Football: A Celebration of Love for Our Community
The annual game is a celebration of love for our community and a tangible way to declare our love for the East Mesa.
As I age and witness the community support to lift both teams up, I see it isn’t as much about the score of the game, but the investment in our community’s future by supporting youth football–it’s the common bond that keeps us connected to what really matters–the next generation.
About the Battle of Brown Road
What’s the history of the Battle of Brown Road?
Red Mountain, home of the Mountain Lions, opened in 1988, 12 years after Mountain View, home of the Toros, opened in 1976.
Each year, they battle against each other for the glory, and a trophy, that’s passed back and forth between the two schools.
Have there been any players who played on both teams?
Retired Red Mountain’s head football coach, Mike Peterson, was once the Mountain View defensive coordinator before crossing sides to coach the rival team.
Currently three of Red Mountain freshman staff Erik Tellef, Joe Eulate and Tom DeMassa all played for Mountain View and either won a state championship as a player or were runner up.
Red Mountain also has four current players who started out at Mountain View and since have transferred to play at Red Mountain.
When is Mountain View vs Red Mountain this year?
The Battle of Brown Road, the biggest Mesa rivalry, will play on November 8, 2024, at 7 p.m. at Mountain View High School against the Red Mountain Mountain Lions.
Expect full stands, lots of alumni families attending, and some extra festivities planned for the big game. This one does get busy, so if possible, arrive early.
If you attend, be sure to know the colors you wear to showcase the team you’re supporting!
Mountain View Toros are blue and red; Red Mountain is black and maroon. The teams will announce on social media closer to the game what color they’re asking fans to wear for this big game.
What the Coaches Have to Say
Are there any big traditions before the Battle of Brown Road?
Head coach Enders shares, “We always have a team dinner the night before the game but for this week we normally make it extra special and have something on the menu like steak, we call it Toro meat.”
He added, “the atmosphere on campus is electric and everyone is talking about the big game.”
Wasn’t the last coach of Red Mountain a former Toro?
Former, retired Red Mountain head football coach, Mike Peterson, was once the Mountain View defensive coordinator before crossing sides to coach the rival team.
Practical Tips: How to Take Kids to the Game
If you don’t have kids on the field, it’s still a really fun community event for young families. Seriously! Take the kids! It’s a nominal admission fee, and you’ll be exposing young ones to their future high schools.
Here are a few tips:
- Like most things for young kids, they’re interested in things that their parents get excited for. I think talking about the big Friday night game throughout the week for your young ones is a great way to get them excited about the sport.
- You want to create positive memories around the sport to get them interested at a young age.
- Let them run around under the bleachers, learn the cheers, throw in a snack and the kids have a blast.
Future For Football is an initiative by the National Football Foundation to promote and celebrate the game at all levels. To find a football league for your child, visit Future for Football’s local league finder.
