WARREN — On Aug. 5, the Downtown Development Group and the Warren Gridiron Club will present “The Game” panel at the seventh annual Warren Football Legends Celebration Dinner at Trumbull Country Club.

The panel, which will be moderated by longtime Cleveland broadcaster Tony Rizzo, will break down the history of the longstanding rivalry between Ohio State and Michigan and will also include a few local legends as panel members.

For as long as he can remember, Rizzo grew up around the Ohio State and Michigan rivalry and he was always attracted to the intensity of the battle between the two programs. He remembers growing up in the 70’s rooting for Archie Griffin and Woody Hayes.

“The Michigan game has always been important to me because that’s the way coach Hayes wanted it,” Rizzo said. “I remember the history of it when Bo Schembechler left and went up to coach Michigan. Then in ’68, the Buckeyes won a National Championship and in ’69 people thought that they had an even better team and they got upset by Michigan and that lit the fire.”

As a longtime fan, Rizzo even went to school at Ohio State to become a dentist and after signing up to go to school in Columbus late, he was assigned a room in the same dorm as the football players. Rizzo said making those connections led to plenty of good memories during his time at Ohio State.

After a few years as a Buckeye, Rizzo decided that he would follow in the footsteps of his dad, Jack Reynolds, to become a broadcaster and enrolled at Ohio University. His job has since presented him with a few opportunities to experience “The Game” first hand and he said the contest in 2002 is the one that sticks out to him the most.

He was working as a broadcaster for FOX 8 at the time and got to cover the game firsthand, which is something he said he will never forget. Warren G. Harding legend Maurice Clarett tore up the Wolverines for 119 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries and Maurice Hall delivered a late 3-yard touchdown run to secure the 14-9 win and remain undefeated.

The Buckeyes then earned the invitation to the Fiesta Bowl, where they topped Miami in double overtime to capture the BCS National Championship.

“I remember looking at my buddy’s son who had first-row seats and I walked over to him and asked him how he felt,” Rizzo said, recalling the Michigan game in 2002. “He said ‘I can’t breathe’ and I kinda felt the same way. I celebrated and I actually got pepper sprayed after that game — me and my cameraman from Channel 8.”

The Ohio State-Michigan game is one that means a lot to many and Rizzo is one of those. It’s a historical rivalry between two passionate programs that has gone back and forth over the years and the Warren area has had plenty of players who have played in it.

There will be plenty of stories told at the Celebration Dinner and that will be just the beginning of the weekend’s festivities.

A sold out golf outing will be held the next day at Trumbull Country Club. Participants can still make reservations for the dinner for $100. The deadline for reservations is July 31 and they can be made by contacting Ray Yannucci at ryannucci@yahoo.com or 216-870-1036.