Brian Girasoli

History Press

Yes, author Girasoli works at a competing daily just up the road, but we have no problem recognizing great work when we find it. The Whaler/Wildcat series - Saturday's game will be the 136th time the two institutions have met on the gridiron - is literally the oldest high school football rivalry in the country. That alone is pretty great. In that context, if you'd expect all sorts of intrigue, chicanery and feats of athletic glory/tragedy are cobwebbed within the course of this two-community story, well, you'd be right. And Girasoli does a fine job and has a lot of fun getting it all down. Go Whalers!

- RICK KOSTER