Old rivalries seemingly die hard.

Craig Runnels wanted to find out if the soccer rivalry of his youth could pass the test of time. The response was a resounding ‘yes’.

Runnels, a life-long Newport Hills resident, has organized a reunion soccer match between two bitter rivals for later this month. The catch?

The last time the Bears and Panthers met on the pitch was the fall of 1975, 33 years ago.

And now, thanks to Runnels effort, upwards of 30 former players, from as far as Houston, San Diego and Phoenix, will travel to Redmond for the June 26 rivalry renewal game at Redmond Arena Sports.

Long gone are the days of the 14 and 15-year-old boys egging each others houses and tee-peeing the opposing teams cars. But as Runnels found out, just because most players are nearly 50 now, doesn’t mean the competitive juices have all died out.

“This was a pretty big rivalry back in the day,” said Runnels, a former member of the Bears. “Over the years, we’d always have to listen to some of the Panthers talk about how much better they were. I finally got tired of hearing about it.”

The teams, both from the Newport Hills area, were formed in the days before the strict organization of today’s soccer leagues. None of the team members played soccer year-round, Runnels said. In those days, players just played whichever sport was in season.

“That’s what made our rivalry special,” Runnels said. “Both teams were a random group of kids, some skilled, some not, but it made for an interesting and competitive match between the two sides.”

The idea for the rematch came at Runnels’ 30th high school reunion in 2007 at Newport, where most of the players went. The trash talk was still flowing then, Runnels, 49, said.

“In the back of my mind, we wanted to get the ball and settle things right there,” he said. “As time went on, I started thinking more seriously about it. We’re not getting any younger and now is the time to make it happen.”

The amount of interest surprised even Runnels, who said out all the players contacted, 33 are planning on attending. He found the rivalry hadn’t lost any of its luster over time. Even the score of the final game, which Runnels claims was a 2-2 tie, is under dispute from former players.

“Yes, it is often disputed,” Runnels laughed. “[Panthers] want to claim victory every time.”

The two teams plan to get things underway at 7 p.m. on the 26th and the players won’t be the only ones back in action; Runnels hopes to have both of the old coaches back in the coaching box for the game. In setting up the game, Runnels created an Evite account online for players to post their responses to the invitation; a glance at the page reveals all the rowdy trash talk one would expect for such a rivalry.

“The interest is so high because you think your playing days are over, and you find out you have one last chance to play with your buddies,” he said. “You don’t want to pass it up.”