When Trinity Episcopal and Adams County Christian School take the field tonight, it’ll be just like old times for the teams’ two running backs.

Trinity’s Daniel Dunaway and ACCS’s Christopher Perry are no strangers to facing one another. The two grew up playing baseball together, and they often played pickup games at Cathedral High School quarterback Caleb Upton’s house.

“We met each other probably playing tee ball for Dixie Youth All-Stars,” Perry said. “It was every year but two, so it must’ve been eight years.

“We also played on a couple of travel baseball teams together: the Mudcats, the Rangers, the Ant Eaters.”

Dunaway corrected Perry on one point.

“I didn’t play on the Rangers,” Dunaway said.

The pickup games at Upton’s house were often wiffle ball, though Perry said they’d play other sports such as football and basketball, depending on what season it was.

“We played a lot of pickup games,” Perry said. “(Dunaway and I) weren’t best friends, but we grew up together.”

And the schools each child went to were never an issue during pickup games, Dunaway said.

“It just felt like we were all friends playing on one team,” Dunaway said. “We would just get a group that live in the neighborhood, or kids (from outside the neighborhood) that wanted to play. We’d shoot a basketball to see who’s on what team. That’s how we picked the teams.”

Both Perry and Dunaway said they enjoy playing running back, though Perry said he prefers fullback.

“I like hitting people and not getting in trouble for it,” Perry said. “To be honest, that’s probably about the only thing I like about it. I like opening up holes for my teammates. If I do that, I feel like I’ve done my job.”

Dunaway said he’s used to getting handoffs and running between the tackles.

“It just feels natural,” Dunaway said. “I also feel like I’ve done my job if the quarterback gets a pass off, and I’m in the backfield blocking.”

Unfortunately for Dunaway, he’s not certain he’ll get to see action in tonight’s game, thanks to an ACL injury he sustained against Silliman two weeks ago. Although he’s can’t do any more damage to the ACL, Dunaway doesn’t know what will happen the rest of the season.

“There’s a chance I could tear the cartilage,” Dunaway said. “That’s the only thing they’re worried about. I haven’t decided if I’m going to play the rest of the season or sit out.”

Perry can relate, since he injured what he initially thought was his ACL as a freshman, he said.

“They went into surgery thinking it was ACL, and the put the scope in because they couldn’t get a good view of it,” Perry said. “They discovered it was a torn meniscus instead, so they healed it up.”

Although there was a fight and multiple ejections the last time ACCS and Trinity faced one another, Perry said he doesn’t think it will be an issue tonight.

“Those guys are gone,” Perry said. “Everyone has cross-town rivals, and people will say what they want to, but it’s never an issue after the game.

“I don’t think it will be an issue, except for people that want to make an issue out of it.”

And the two schools squaring off isn’t something that seems weird, Dunaway said.

“It just feels like normal,” Dunaway said. “We’ve been playing them ever since the third grade.”

Kickoff between ACCS and Trinity is at 7 tonight at ACCS.