St Johnsbury Academy vs Lyndon Institute nation's third best football rivalry

USA TODAY High School Sportstoday announced that the Brookfield vsMarceline Bell Gameof Missouri has been named the best high school football rivalry in the country, claiming victory in a month-long competition pitting 153 rivalries three from each state and the District of Columbia against one another in three total rounds of online fan voting. St Johnsbury Academy vs Lyndon Institute was the top vote getter in the North region and finished third.
The Bell Game in Missouri a face-off of small towns Brookfield and Marceline that have a combined population of 6,500 managed to garner 1,761,259 votes during the week-long national round, edging out three other regional rivalries: Arizona's Bisbee vs. Douglas with 948,831 votes in the West, Vermont's St. Johnsbury Academy vs Lyndon Institute with 656,130 votes in the North and Alabama'sTR MillervsWS Nealwith 223,661 votes in the South.
As winners of theUSATODAY High School Sports best rivalries search, Brookfield and Marceline will receive$10,000($5,000to each school) in athletic department funding, as well as national coverage of its annual game in USA TODAY Sports in 2013 and a specially-designed trophy to be held by the winners each year going forward.
TheUSATODAY High School Sports search for the best high school football rivalry in the country, as determined by high school football fans, began onNov. 19. After two weeks of voting for the best rivalry in each state andWashington, D.C., the 51 winners began competingDec. 5in a regional round to become one of four rivalries to advance to the national competition.
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SOURCEMCLEAN, Va.,Dec. 20, 2012/PRNewswire/ --USATODAY Sports Media Group