There’s drama under the Friday night lights, especially in the last game of the season between cross-town schools with a rivalry dating back generations.

In 2023 an MLive film crew spent a week at Bay City Central and Bay City Western high schools as the football teams, marching bands, cheerleaders and die-hard fans prepared for the teams to meet at the famous Elmer Engel Stadium at Bay City Central.

The resulting documentary, “Rivalry: Battle of the Bay,” was selected for several Michigan film festivals over the past year, and it’s returning to Bay City with the Hell’s Half Mile Film & Music Festival .

The film will be screened on Friday, Sept. 26 at 9 p.m. at the State Theater in downtown Bay City. Individual tickets are $10, click here to purchase . The film runs 59 minutes and t

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