MANKATO – A trophy that spent nearly two decades in one place made a move Friday, when Mankato East beat its crosstown rival Mankato West 28-7 at Blakeslee Stadium.

For 19 years, Mankato West kept the Kato Jug — a painted clay trophy, emblazoned with the scores of past battles — bestowed on the winner of the annual regular-season football game between the city’s two public high schools.

“These guys have had this on their list for a long time, and it’s very gratifying to see hard work pay off,” Cougars head coach Eric Davis said.

From kickoff, the Cougars dominated the game. They flew down the field on their first drive, going 80 yards in five minutes.

The Scarlets offense couldn’t respond on its opening drive, with the Cougars defense stifling Mankato West running back Trevor Sheldrup, who finished with 73 yards rushing on 15 attempts.

In a second quarter marred by penalties, the Scarlets offense marched down the field as Sheldrup finally broke through.

Then a hush fell upon the stadium after Scarlets quarterback Osborne Lorenz hopped to the sideline with a high ankle sprain.

Backup Charlie Bobholz on the next play threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Ayden Betts to equalize the score, but it was tough sledding for the Scarlets offense for the rest of the game. Mankato West ended with only 144 yards of offense.

“Obviously Osborne going down didn’t help us,” Mankato West head coach Jeffery Helget said. “Everything we had set up for the game plan was set up for him —he’s at least 50 to 60% of our offense.”

Before halftime, Cougars running back Blake Kamphoff rushed for a 27-yard touchdown run to pull his team ahead again, a play Davis said was important for regaining momentum.

In the second half, the Scarlets continued to struggle offensively, and the Cougars took advantage of a short field. A Kamphoff 27-yard rush and an 19-yard Hayden Tischler touchdown catch gave East a 21-7 lead.

The Scarlets had chances to fight their way back into the game via special teams. They recovered a fumble on a kickoff in the second half and caught another break when a punt hit the heel of a Mankato East player.

But West couldn’t capitalize. The Cougars defense roared, with Tyler Blaschko breaking up a pass in the end zone and Tyler Thilges sacking Bobholz, who finished 3-for-14 for 20 yards passing.

The Scarlets went for it on a fourth down but could not convert, deflating half of the crowd.

After the game, the Cougars sprinted to grab the Kato Jug, and Mankato East fans were allowed to run onto the field.

“I love this team and this school,” sophomore Ronnie Banks said.

Tischler, who finished with four catches for 67 yards for Mankato East, said the Cougars went into last year’s Jug Game thinking they were the better team, only to lose.

This year, the team was serious about playing with more energy, he said.

“We’ve been working for this all offseason,” Tischler said.

Mankato East improved to 3-0 while Mankato West fell to 1-2, having previously lost the season opener to Mahtomedi.

The Jug Game is traditionally one of the largest annual events in this city of about 45,000. The origins of the rivalry date to Mankato East’s founding in 1973. East at one point dominated the series, winning 22 of the first 33 games.

“It’s about time,” said Celeste Voss, a 2002 Mankato East graduate, as she left the stadium. “We are so glad that the streak is ended.”