Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) will host its annual crosstown rivalry game between the Traverse City Central High School Trojans and the Traverse City West Senior High School Titans on September 18 at 7pm - with several modifications made for the pandemic, including broadcasting the game instead of having the public attend in person.

State rules currently only allow for in-person attendance of 25 percent of a stadium’s capacity or a total cap of 500 people, whichever number is smaller. For the TC West vs. TC Central game, the 500 person limit means that the number of people in attendance will be limited to players, coaches, referees, two family members/attendees per varsity football player, the sideline cheer team, limited game workers, and members of the media.

“We do not feel that we can call it the TC Patriot Game this year because we are not able to invite our community’s Patriots, all of our students, or the community to attend the event in-person,” says TC Central Athletic Director Zac Stevenson. “That being said, we knew we wanted to do something to respect and recognize, especially during this pandemic, those who have served and continue to serve. To that end, this year's game has been named Celebrate Service and will include various virtual and televised tributes from TCAPS and our local media partners until we are able to get back to the important community traditions that are the cornerstone of the TC Patriot Game."

The school district and WTCM Newstalk 580, TV 7&4, and 9&10 News will broadcast the game for viewers to watch or listen to at home. In addition, performances by the Titan and Trojan marching bands will be prerecorded (the marching bands are unable to attend this year’s event in-person due to the state-mandated stadium capacity restrictions), and the school district will be collecting and sharing veteran recognitions and community “thank yous” to local service workers. Any member of the community wishing to submit a memorial or honorarium tribute to a veteran, active duty service member, or first responder can submit it with a photo to info@tcaps.net or message TCAPS on Facebook.

The annual commemorative shirt sale is also still taking place, with shirts available for order online. T-shirts are $8 each. All orders must be placed by Monday, September 14 at 2pm to have them ready by game day. Orders will need to be picked up from Threads Custom Gear (2488 Cass Road in Traverse City) on Thursday, September 17 and Friday, September 18 from 9am to 5pm.