Half of the 3,000 or so people who will be at Griffin Field Friday night to watch their two beloved undefeated football teams square off will bleed green and gold, the other half will bleed orange and black.

Only a select few will bleed a mixture of all four.

Andrew and Ron Deering will be wearing the Halloween colors of Jay High School. They may not like to admit it, but there’s a little green and gold in their veins, too. Tom and Mike Durrell will be wearing the Packers-like colors of Livermore Falls High School, but they’ve got a little orange and black in them.

Watching from the Jay sideline will be Andrew and Ron’s proud father, Ron Sr., a 1981 graduate of Livermore Falls High School. Watching from the Livermore Falls sideline will be the equally proud father of Tom and Mike, Jay High School graduate, Class of 1981, Bob Durrell.

“Never in my imagination would I have imagined cheering for the opposite side,” said Ron Deering, Sr.

“It’s a really unique situation to be in,” said Bob Durrell.

Durrell and Deering share more than their “unique situation.” Both of them were in the trenches for their respective teams the last time Jay and Livermore Falls played each other with matching undefeated records.

The parallels have made for a lot of reminiscing and re-telling of old football stories and what may have been the high point of the storied Jay-Livermore Falls rivalry so far.

“He’s been talking about how they were 8-0 and now we’re 8-0,” said Andrew Deering Jr. “He thinks it’s pretty big.”

Little has changed in the ensuing two dozen years. Players from both teams still grow up playing together on Area Youth Sports teams. They usually go their separate ways once high school begins, but the ties, though usually loosened, remain.

“Livermore and Jay kids, we knew each other from playing sports in AYS together right up through to the eighth grade,” Deering said. “There was no love lost on the field, but we were friends off of it.”

Friendships were set aside for the 1980 game. Jay, coming off an undefeated state championship season in 1979 that included a 33-0 win over the Andies, came into the game favored.

“We felt we had a better defense than Livermore did, but Livermore came out and shocked us in the first half and scored 18 points,” said Durrell, an offensive and defensive tackle for the Tigers..

Jay battled back to within 18-14 and threatened to take the lead late in the the fourth quarter, marching into Livermore Falls territory. The game came down to a fourth-and-one, and the Andies, with Deering in the middle of the line, stuffed the Tigers on a quarterback sneak to preserve the victory.

“We were lucky to stop them,” Deering said. “I think they probably came within three inches of making it.”

Tonight’s game may or may not be decided by such a slim margin, but both fathers will be on the edge of their seats regardless.

The fact that Dad played for the enemy has resulted in some humorous moments and a little good-natured ribbing between fathers and sons. Last year, Deering took Andrew to a team gathering at quarterback Justin Wells’ house.

“He wore his Andies coat and we all laughed at him,” said Andrew Deering. “It was a little embarrassing.”

“They wouldn’t let me in the house,” Ron Sr. noted.

They probably won’t be letting him in the house in the future, because Ron’s loyalty to the Tigers only runs so deep.

“Once my boys have graduated, I’m sure I’ll go back to the other side,” said Deering, who moved to Jay 19 years ago.

“You’ve got to support the school you went to, I guess,” said Andrew.

The Durrell brothers appear to have been more successful with their father’s blood transfusion.

“I think he’s more of a converted fan now,” Mike said.

“I think it’s a permanent thing,” said the Mr. Durrell, who moved to Livermore Falls in 1986. “I switched over when Tom was in third grade and I think I’m there for good.”.

Both the elder Deering and Durrell admitted they’ve been having flashbacks to their high school days watching their sons get excited for tonight’s game. They also share some fatherly advice for their boys — soak it all in tonight, because it’s a night they’ll cherish forever.

“There’s no bigger thrill than coming down that hill and walking onto the football field under the lights,” Deering said.

“It’s going to be the most competitive game they play in in their high school career,” Durrell said. “They’ve had big games, but nothing like this.”