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Here comes the Holy War

Villanova is a strong favorite tonight when it hosts Saint Joseph's in the annual Holy War. The Wildcats should win it.

In fact, it has been a while since there has been an upset in the series. The Hawks did have their chances at upsets the last two seasons. And the young Wildcats played a terrific game against St. Joe's great 2003-04 team. But the favorite keeps winning, at least lately.

The coaches grew up around here. So they know the history and take nothing for granted.

"The first St. Joe-Villanova game I ever went to at the Palestra, St. Joe's shaved their heads," Wright said. "I had never seen that before. It blew my mind. I thought it was the coolest thing I ever saw."

A few years later, as a senior at Council Rock High, Wright tried to convince his teammates to shave their heads before their big game against Pennsbury.

"No one would do it," Wright said. "I wanted to do it."

Martelli just thinks of the noise at these games.

"To me, it's always been the noise," Martelli said. "The game that kind of jumps out at me was 2005 at the Palestra."

Read more on the Holy War in tomorrow's Daily News.