Accepting the realities associated with declining numbers, while also putting a longstanding rivalry in its proper perspective, now finds the residents of Tioga and Ray standing near the mountaintop of North Dakota 9-man football. A win in Friday's state 9-man championship game against Hillsboro at the Alerus in Grand Forks brings these ardent Williams County Firestorm faithful to the peak barely more than a handful of years after embarking on a new co-op between the two school districts.

"To me, the co-op has been nothing but a blessing for our kids. It's given them so much more of an opportunity not only for success, but also playing time," said Tioga athletic director Brodie Odegaard, who also is one of the varsity football assistant coaches.

Ray athletic director Arley Larson said the co-op originated because of declining students at both school districts.

"I think it's tremendous because otherwise, you probably have kids that go a whole year or two without playing," Larson said. "It's also a concern over size when you have freshmen or sophomores going against older kids."

Current head coach Tim Schaffer said the decision to enter into a co-op was a great thing. "It was a great decision by both communities because it gave us an opportunity to play full junior high, full JV and full varsity schedules," Schaffer said. "Where before, we were bringing in freshmen down to play junior high, or else we didn't have JV games either. Then your young kids don't play."

From a coaching perspective, the co-op is a huge positive because it allows younger players to get involved in the program.

"If you can't get the younger kids playing at their level, they're not going to want to play," Schaffer said. "If they are going to get their butts kicked by seniors in varsity games, you know, that's not a good situation."

Ray superintendent Dan Anderson said the co-op has a unique history when considering the fact Ray and Tioga are historic arch rivals in numerous activities.

"They pride themselves in their rivalry, which is typical of rural North Dakota," he said, while also pointing the the huge rivalries between the likes of the University of North Dakota and North Dakota State.

"The healthy, small-town rivalries were a wonderful thing if kept in a good perspective," Anderson said.

The students immediately jumped on board to take advantage of the opportunities the new co-op provided, while some of the parents were a bit slower to get on board, Anderson said.

"There still is a healthy rivalry. The boys to this day will scrap tooth and nail on the basketball court, but they are absolutely 100 percent team partners on the football field."

Larson said the students just want to play and have an opportunity to be successful.

"I don't think it's unhealthy to be a teammate in one sport and a competitor in another sport," Larson said.

Enrollment numbers had been declining every year as Ray decided it needed to seek a viable alternative via a co-op.

"Tioga could have gone 9-man then for a couple of years, but Ray was pretty much out," Anderson said. "We could have fielded 10 people maybe if they had all come out. But because we have been able to co-op, generally we get 10-15 boys out for football."

Schaffer said when the co-op was formed, both communities had football teams with low numbers.

"Who knows what would have happened. Maybe both of us, we won't know, but maybe neither of us would have football right now," Schaffer said if the co-op hadn't formed.

"I know we wouldn't have had the success apart that we've had the last years together," he added.

Getting both communities to understand the benefits associated with the co-op was a big first step in getting it established, Odegaard said.

"When our school boards commited to funding it half and half so to speak, to me that was a first big step that we're committed to this," Odegaard said.

The fact thge co-op basically has been successful almost out of the gate also has helped tremendously, he added.

The first year in the co-op, Williams County just missed the playoffs.

"From there we have made the playoffs the last six years," Schaffer said.

He points to making back-to-back appearances in the state semifinals in 2004 and 2005 as key building blocks for the program, and Odegaard agrees.

"I think a lot of people look at the team from 2005. I think that really set the tone," Odegaard said. "We have kids coming through the pipeline seeing success, and success breeds success."

Odegaard said a lot of the credit for the program's success goes to Schaffer.

"He has the respect of his players from both communities," Odegaard said.

After falling out of the playoffs in the second round last season, Odegaard said the coaches this year came in expecting to have a good year, which can now be considered an understatement when you look at the perfect 12-0 record Williams County brings to the title game Friday.

"They haven't found their limits yet," Odegaard added.

Meanwhile, Larson said you like to see students achieve success.

"I think it's about seeing kids attain goals and see hard work rewarded," he said.

As the year has gone on, the excitement and community pride has grown.

"It's kind of neat to see parents plan things. There seems to be a little space for people to come up with ideas and people say 'We'll do that,'" Anderson said.

Parents have provided special meals, painted the football field with the school logo or sponsored a tailgate party, he said.

"It's kind of spontaneous," Anderson said. "People just want to help and they come up with ideas."