KANNAPOLIS – The age-old rivalry between A.L. Brown and Concord high schools will play out in a new way Thursday night as the schools compete to “stuff the bus” — fill buses with donated food — for Cooperative Christian Ministry.

This is the 85^th year Concord and A.L. Brown will play for the Victory Bell donated to the schools by Southern Railways in 1950.

During game night this Thursday at A.L. Brown, each school will have a school bus parked in the horseshoe drive in front of Bullock Gymnasium. Members of the community can donate food to the bus of their choice; student volunteers will be on-hand to help .

“These two high schools have never been afraid to leverage their competition to demonstrate the importance of community,” says CCM Executive Director Ed Hosack. “We are extremely proud of how these two schools have responded through their food drives over the years.”

The school with the most food (in weight) will win a prize and CCM will distribute the food collected throughout their network of 10 community food pantries.

“We are extremely grateful and happy that our students are supporting the community with the canned food drive to support CCM,” says A.L. Brown Principal Todd Parker. “It is so important that we teach our students that giving to others is an important part of life and makes it so much more meaningful.”

The Battle For the Bell – traditionally the last game of the regular season for Concord and A.L. Brown high schools – was changed after conference realignment split the schools and the game had to be played before the first day of school.

The game Thursday will be broadcast on Time Warner Cable as part of the Great American Rivalry series.

Gates open at 5 p.m. at A.L. Brown High School. Students and volunteers will be on-hand beginning at 4:45 p.m. to take donations of nonperishable food items.

Cooperative Christian Ministry (CCM) provides immediate assistance to residents of Cabarrus and southern Rowan counties of North Carolina that are experiencing crisis in the areas of food, shelter or finances while engaging them in a series of actions that will empower them to move beyond crisis. For more information, go to www.cooperativeministry.com.