The History of the SRHS/MHS rivalry

For years Santa Rosa High School has had a vigorous and at times malicious rivalry against Montgomery High School. But, as the two earliest high schools in Santa Rosa, both were bound to be rivals. So who threw the first punch?
In 1958 the Santa Rosa City Schools Administration began the construction of what is currently the Montgomery High School campus. This project forced incoming tenth graders and current students, enrolled at MHS, to attend SRHS for a double session schedule during the construction. From eight to noon Monty students had their school session on one side of SRHS’s campus and from noon to four Santa Rosa students had their session on another side of campus.
Mr. Desideri, SRHS’s current woodshop teacher, was a student at Montgomery High School during the double session at SRHS.
He recalls, "There were too many students for everyone to be at Santa Rosa High."
It wasn’t until the MHS campus was complete and students were allowed on that the rivalry began to sprout.
"It was a friendly, honorable rivalry. Everyone knew everyone and we all got along. However, there was a lot more conformity than there is now," Mr. Desideri says about the earlier rival.
Unfortunately, four years later in 1962 SRHS decided to rebuild their campus. Santa Rosa students were then forced to have a double session at MHS and once again the schedule was followed.
Mr. Colli, the current SRHS auto shop teacher was a student at SRHS during the double session at MHS. "There was a feeling that we were being cheated—tossed around." Colli said about the double session, "We were better than Montgomery in everything. During my junior, senior year the rivalry was intense."
Around 1963-’64, SRHS finished rebuilding. By this time SRCS were a closed campus, due to the abuse of the privilege by Monty students. To express the emotions of SRHS, two former students conducted a plan. With bows and flaming arrows, they lit the Montgomery Village wagons, displayed on opposite sides of the shopping center, on fire.
This became a big deal and fired up the MHS rivalry thermometer. The years following 1964, morphed into what is now the current status of rivalry between SRHS and MHS.