For the last 15 years, they have also been feuding along the border over a pigskin.
Saturday night makes the 15th anniversary of the Hatfield-McCoy Senior Bowl, which pits the top graduated senior players from southern West Virginia against those from the eastern Kentucky mountain region.
Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. at Matewan High School’s Tiger Stadium.
The Kentucky All-Stars once dominated the series as the Bluegrass State team won four out of the first five games.
Since 2001, however, it’s been all West Virginia as the Mountain State All-Stars have won eight out of the last nine, including the last six.
West Virginia holds a 9-5 all-time series advantage.
Last year, the West Virginia All-Stars, coached by Matewan assistant John Fry, rolled to a 30-12 victory over the boys from the Kentucky Commonwealth.
West Virginia players are gathered from Logan, Mingo, Wyoming, McDowell, Wayne, Lincoln and Boone counties.
Kentucky high school players are brought in from the eastern mountain regions of Pike, Floyd, Johnson, Letcher and Martin counties.
Coaching this year’s West Virginia All-Star team for the first time is retired Tolsia High School coach Matt Stanley.
Jonathan Parsons, the head coach at Betsy Layne High School, is the head mentor for the Kentucky All-Stars.
Kentucky is looking for its first victory since 2003 when it won a 40-36 shootout.
The Hatfield-McCoy Bowl is the unofficial kickoff to the high school football season.
The game is always held either the last Saturday in July or the first Saturday in August.
Official high school football practices are slated to begin in West Virginia two days later on Aug. 2. Prep practices in Kentucky are already under way.
The Hatfield-McCoy Senior Bowl, which made its debut in 1996, is the brainchild of Matewan football coach Danny “Yogi” Kinder and takes its name from the infamous feud along the state border.
The forerunner of the bowl game was the Kiwanis Bowl, which was played at Williamson’s Lefty Hamilton Park. The old K-Bowl had dated back to the 1950s.
The Hatfield-McCoy Bowl allows high school seniors to play one last football game. The vast majority of the players on each side of the ball are suiting up for the last time, however, for a lucky few the game offers a chance to play in front of a few college scouts.
A handful of scholarships have been awarded by college coaches who have seen players take part in the bowl game.
A Hatfield-McCoy Bowl queen will be awarded at halftime and graduated senior cheerleaders from West Virginia and Kentucky are also invited to form all-star cheer squads.
Saturday’s game will be broadcast by “Coal Country” – WXCC 96.5 FM.
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