But this series is a lot more complicated than that.
When Hammonton coach Pete Lancetta, who played for St. Joseph in the late 1970s, says "this game really doesn't mean anything," he's not being contrary or controversial or contentious.
He's looking at the big picture.
And when St. Joseph coach Paul Sacco says the best thing about the rivalry is that it has "calmed down," in recent years, he's not downplaying the importance of emotion and intensity in the sport.
Things just aren't that simple when it comes to the clash between Hammonton, a Group 3 public school, and St. Joseph, a tiny Catholic school that competes in the Non-Public 1 classification.
"It's taken me a lot of years, maybe 26 or 27 years, to just let things go in one ear and out the other and just concern myself with the game," said Sacco, who has been St. Joseph's coach for 30 seasons.
Sacco says there's a "lot less animosity," associated with the game these days, thanks to a "mutual respect" between the coaching staffs and players.
Lancetta doesn't disagree. He thinks St. Joseph is an "extremely well-coached team" with lots of "quality" players.
St. Joseph is 8-0 and No. 1 in The Inquirer Top 10. Hammonton is 9-1 and No. 7.
Give those records and rankings, this looks like a classic game, a clash of great teams with great fan bases - with the added attractions of history and proximity.
But this isn't a typical cross-town rivalry. St. Joseph might be situated on the corner of Third and Vine StreetS in Hammonton, but the school's population is almost entirely comprised of students who live in other towns. It's a Hammonton school by zip code only.
"Less than 7 percent of our students are from Hammonton," said Sacco, who teaches at his alma mater.
