Thursday will mark the 30th anniversary of the Kiwanis Bowl as we know it today.

It was Nov. 1, 1979 when Russell and Ashland’s freshmen football teams played in what was then the new-look Kiwanis Bowl.

The previous 27 years, starting in 1952, it was a battle between Ashland junior highs Coles and Putnam.

But the last Coles-Putnam Kiwanis Bowl game was in 1978, a 6-0 Coles’ victory by the way.

So that makes this year’s version the 57th annual Kiwanis Bowl and that makes it one of the area’s longest-running sporting events.

I’m not sure of the individual(s) responsible for deciding to make the Kiwanis Bowl between Ashland and Russell — following the merger of Coles and Putnam into Verity Middle School — but it was an idea that has turned out to be good for both schools.

The game has always been played at Putnam Stadium and it’s something both sides look forward to the entire season. It’s a big event, complete with queens for both sides.

The Kiwanians make it a special event, including inviting coaches and captains to an afternoon lunch the day before the game, and it becomes memories that the players take with them into their high school years.

When talking with Josh Alber, Ashland’s pile-driving fullback, after a recent game, he talked about how far the Tomcats had come and referenced a loss to Russell in the Kiwanis Bowl that year. “Who would have thought that a team that lost in the Kiwanis Bowl four years ago would be where we are today?” Alber said.

Every year, players from Ashland and Russell reminisce about their particular Kiwanis Bowl year.

It’s also stoked the Russell-Ashland football rivalry to become one of the best games in northeastern Kentucky every year. A lot of that has to go back to the Kiwanis Bowl, when the freshmen Tomcats and Red Devils play like it’s the Super Bowl.

It doesn’t matter what the records may be either. Teams have gone in without a loss and without a win over the last 30 years.

Back in 1979, when the “new” Kiwanis Bowl was born, Russell was 6-1 and riding high. The high school team was coming off a state championship year in 1978 under coach Ivan McGlone.

Ashland was struggling on the high school level at that time and the freshmen Tomcats were 3-2 after having three games canceled that season.

Russell defeated Ashland 45-8 in that Kiwanis Bowl with Jim Epling as head coach. Epling won so much he’d be in the Kiwanis Bowl Hall of Fame if they had one.

Some of the names from the ’79 Russell team were quarterback Mike Couchot (local oral surgeon), running backs Tim Hammond (best defensive back), Rusty Ison (MVP and best offensive back) and Mark Watkins (the girls and boys basketball coach at Rose Hill), and ends Mark Callihan and Mark Salyers, who both had TDs in the Kiwanis Bowl.

Many of those Red Devils would become important parts of state semifinal teams in 1981 and 1982.

Some of the names from the ’79 Ashland team were quarterback Greg Conley (son of Herb Conley), running back Darren Richardson (who scored the Tomcats’ only touchdown) and offensive guard David Leaver (father of Ashland soccer star Paige Leaver).

That Kiwanis Bowl was played in a rainstorm on a cold and wet Thursday night. The last quarter was shortened to six minutes it was so miserable.

Russell won 15 of the first 18 Kiwanis Bowls, including the first six in a row. Russell is 20-10 overall against Ashland in the series.

Ted Miller and Bob Hoage were co-chairman of the Kiwanis Bowl in 1979 and Dr. John Hughes was president of the Kiwanis Club.

Thirty years has passed since that game and a lot of good Kiwanis Bowls have been played. Here’s to hoping its lifespan carries on for years to come.

MARK MAYNARD can be reached at mmaynard@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2648.