By Christine Garcia and Betty Kaldas
After nearly 51 years of rivalry and tradition, the annual Battle of the Bell Game between Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) and Edison High School (EHS) will not appear on the 2026-2027 activities schedule, bringing a pause to one of Orange County’s largest rivalries.
Unlike division match ups, the Bell Game is a non-league game. As a result, the match up is evaluated as football coaches and administrators construct the future schedules. According to Assistant Principal of Activities Brian Clark, the decision was made through ongoing discussions involving the football program and school administration. Clark emphasized that the school generally allows the coaches to determine their non-league opponents.
The Battle of the Bell began in 1975 when Activities Coordinators Dave Hagen of FVHS and Ben Garret of EHS sought to create a rivalry between neighboring schools. Originally, the token mascot of the game was a World War II cannon. As ideas were developed and thought over, an old train bell was finally bought from an antique shop in Mission Viejo, deeming the tradition as the “Battle of the Bell.”
While the loss of a tradition has disappointed many students, Clark explained that concerns about player safety were among the strongest factors influencing the decision. Although the Bell Game has remained meaningful because of its community involvement, FVHS has struggled to compete consistently against EHS. The average margin of victory over the past two decades has exceeded 30 points, with the Barons losing 7-34 in the 2025 Bell Game.
“The biggest reason and the biggest sort of support that we have for [the decision] as a school is student safety,” Clark said. “I mean, if you look at the two different teams on two different levels of two different spots in skill level and progression like Edison is, their team is bigger, faster — our [Barons] could easily get hurt.”
However, the pause is not permanent. Assistant football coach Michael Vega emphasized the long-term goals of the football program. Although Vega was not directly involved with the final decisions, he explained that removing EHS could help the Barons rebuild the program and secure more wins over time.
“The best thing for our program right now is to remove [EHS] from our schedule … so that we can build up [the team] and eventually get to a place where we can not just compete with them, but to beat them,” Vega said. “I don’t know how long it’ll [take] … But, the end goal is to eventually have the bell game going again when it’s more competitive.”
Vega also pointed to encouraging signs from recent offseason competitions. During seven-on-seven competitions, a fast paced, passing-only version of football with seven players on each side, the Barons were able to effectively compete against the Chargers.
However, Vega acknowledged the emotional impact of losing this tradition.
“I feel like taking that game away from the community is not fair to them, regardless of how bad [we lose],” Vega said. “It sucks for the senior class coming up and all the people that come out, expecting the game to happen.”
For the players themselves, the decision was met with disappointment. Senior football player Munir Beshir emphasized that the rivalry represented much more than the final score. The event brought together students and community members in a way that very few other events could, which is why the players viewed the announcement as the loss of a meaningful part of the FVHS experience.
“I feel like [the Bell Game] means a lot to me … There’s really no pressure because we know that we’re the underdogs — nobody’s really expecting anything from us. So, you can just have fun and play in front of a big crowd, and your whole school is behind you,” Beshir said.
Sophomore football player Issac Combs shared a similar perspective, having attended the Bell Games throughout his childhood before eventually playing in one himself. Combs explained that preparing in the Bell Game required months of effort, with offseason workouts and continuing through spring practices, summer training and film study.
“I think what makes it different is there’s a whole week preparing for the game. There’s so many traditions that happen at school, and everyone is a part of it. Everyone knows that this is Bell Week, so it makes the game like so much bigger and there’s so much more people that come out,” Combs said.
Beshir believes that recent results do not fully reflect the potential of the team. He noted that the absence of seniors Matthew Semeta, Nathan Lares, Aidan Wong and Austin Wallace due to their respective injuries may have contributed to the Barons falling short of the Chargers.
“[The score was] not that bad, considering that year [EHS] was top 20 in state [and] they won nationals last year,” Beshir said. “I feel like if we had those players, it would have been a whole different [Bell Game].”
While the football players are focused on the game itself, FVHS’s Associated Student Body (ASB) have begun considering how the absence of Bell Week might affect campus culture.
New ASB President Madison Phan viewed this change as an opportunity to expand student involvement beyond a single event. ASB has already begun exploring ways to distribute school spirit activities throughout the year to create new traditions that can bring students closer.
“[This is an] opportunity for us to revamp our school spirit and uplift our student culture, because I know that a lot of the students depend on this event in order to … participate in the school spirit,” Phan said. “But … we are trying to revamp other events and also add on new things that students are looking forward to … This is a very fun opportunity for us as ASB too to plan new events and try to get more creative with our events.
Phan explained that ASB is considering incorporating popular Bell Week traditions into other campus events. One possibility is moving the Glow Show so that it’s for Homecoming.
For now, the future of the Battle of the Bell remains uncertain. However, its impact on generations of FVHS and EHS students will be remembered. Whether the Battle of the Bell returns, many believe that its legacy remains embedded in FVHS and EHS history.
“I think the game will return because it’s such a big part of Fountain Valley Football and Edison football, and it’s been going on for so long they can’t just take it away now,” Combs said. “Programs change every single year, so one year we could be better, and then we could play them again.”
