The annual AMHS Night Football Game consistently proves itself as one of the most popular events of the year, and part of that excitement comes from the matchup: local rivals such as Saint Francis or Bellarmine. Much of the intensity of a rivalry game comes from decades of competition among schools to establish themselves as an athletic powerhouse. Through switching across multiple leagues and fighting to assert its spot among the established schools in the Santa Clara Valley, the nearly sixty year journey of Mitty Athletics has earned its fair share of rivals.

The formation of the West Catholic Athletic League—or WCAL—helped like-minded schools compete together, yet in its early days the league only included men’s teams, and thus the women’s teams had a slightly different story. Competing in the West Valley League and later the Blossom Valley League, the women’s teams formed rivalries with strong athletic programs as well, but often with public schools such as Los Gatos High School. After the WCAL began incorporating women’s teams in 2002, they soon developed rivalries with Saint Francis and Valley Christian as well.

Sports rivalries primarily depend on the proximity of two different schools, as well as the competitiveness of the games, but as Athletic Director Mr. Brian Eagleson notes, it took a few games before Mitty could prove itself: “When baseball won a CCS title, that changed the way our program was viewed and the players we attracted.” Former athletic director and Men’s Baseball Coach of 35 years Mr. Bill Hutton adds, “We were the new kid on the block, and we wanted to earn the respect of the other schools.” Mitty first won a CCS baseball title in 1997, and then claimed three more in 2003, 2005, and in 2010 when they completed one of the most dominant seasons in WCAL history, destroying Bellarmine in the championship game, 12-0.  

“In Women’s Volleyball,” Mr. Eagleson adds, “it was when all of a sudden we started claiming state titles. Those wins beating Saint Francis along the way launched them to the next level.” 

Though the struggles of Mitty’s infancy are gone today, the sports rivalries that erupted from those early days still hold up, and are the culmination of years of effort from both the students and staff that built and maintained these athletic programs.