Once upon a time, not that long ago, actually, the Lewiston and Edward Little football teams would hold a parade in their respective cities before meeting on the field to revisit their rivalry.

The parades eventually went the way of letter sweaters, but the two schools are trying to renew the spirit of their long-standing and storied rivalry with a number of new activities, including a parade and an alumni football game.

Lewiston High School assistant principal John Bouchles is organizing a parade, to take place the morning of the game. The Blue Devils and Red Eddies meet for the 159th time on Saturday, Oct. 23.

The plan is to hold a parade in Lewiston at 10 a.m., with Lewiston’s cheerleaders and mascot meeting the Edward Little/Auburn contingent in the middle of Longley Bridge and escort them to Lewiston’s Main Street. The parade route would then turn onto Sabattus Street, wind onto Webster Street and finally East Avenue before concluding at Lewiston High School near Don Roux Field in time for the 1 p.m. kickoff.

Besides the two schools taking part, Bouchles is inviting local members of the armed services and veterans groups to participate.

“We want to reignite things and start a new tradition by paying tribute to the rivalry between Edward Little and Lewiston, as well as pay tribute to the men and women in our armed services,” Bouchles said.

Bouchles has also contacted Chamber of Commerce officials in hopes of extending the spirit of the rivalry into the business community with a “Blue and White Day” in Lewiston and a “Maroon and White Day” in Auburn.

Anyone seeking more information on the parade should contact Bouchles at Lewiston High School at 795-4190

A Lewiston/Edward Little alumni football game is also planned for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 21 at Walton Field. Former Lewiston and EL football players are invited to attend the event, which is sponsored by the ELHS Grandstand Club, even if they don’t intend to play.

For a small fee, which will go to the grandstand club, players will be presented specially-made jerseys for the occasion and participate in a flag-football game between the two schools. All participants will be introduced either before the game or at halftime. Admission for fans is just $1 and there will be a special 50-50 drawing at halftime.

Former Lewiston players interested in participating should call Jason Fuller at the high school at 795-4190. Edward Little alums should contact Don Morency at 786-9218 or 782-9741. Players are asked to notify their contact person as soon as possible so they can get an accurate count on the number of jerseys they need.

Back on the sidelines

Oak Hill head coach Bruce Nicholas is expected back on the job this week after missing last week’s loss to Fryeburg.

Oak Hill athletic director Bill Fairchild declined comment on why Nicholas missed the Fryeburg game and issued the following written statement:

“Discipline issues regarding personnel are confidential employment matters and as such are handled under appropriate employment policy,” reads Fairchild’s statement, which he released Tuesday. “Therefore, there is no comment on past issues concerning Coach Bruce Nicholas, but he is coaching on the field today and doing an excellent job of it.”

Fairchild would not confirm whether Nicholas would be back for tonight’s game at Hampden Academy, but Nicholas was seen coaching the Raiders at practice earlier this week.

Nicholas served a mandatory one-game suspension two weeks ago during a game against Leavitt after being ejected from Oak Hill’s game against Brewer the week before. The Raiders won the Leavitt game, 10-7, in overtime and Nicholas ran onto the field following the game to join his players’ celebration.