By Tracy McDonald and Alex Rickert
On Friday, Oct. 7, two island football teams will meet on the gridiron to extend what is already the longest standing rivalry in Monroe County sports history, when the Marathon Dolphins make the trip north to challenge the Coral Shores Hurricanes. The red-hot 5-1 Hurricanes enter the contest riding a four-game win streak during which they outscored their opponents 141-7. Coral Shores’ defense has surrendered a mere 26 points in total on the season and has yet to give up a 20-point game. The 3-2 Dolphins, meanwhile, will look to begin a streak of their own. Following a disappointing loss to Ransom Everglades on Sept. 23, the Fins responded with a dominant 36-0 shutout win over BridgePrep Village Green the following week.
Marathon and Coral Shores have met a total of 52 times throughout their storied rivalry that began in 1970. The Hurricanes currently hold the edge in what has been dubbed the “Battle of the Keys” with 27 wins to Marathon’s 25. In preparation for Friday’s showdown, the Keys Weekly Sports Wrap took a look through past iterations of this iconic contest.
| Year | Winner | Score | Notables |
| 1970 | CSHS | 30-0 | The Battle of the Keys commences |
| 1970 | CSHS | 38-6 | |
| 1971 | CSHS | 44-0 | Hurricane Ricou DeShaw signs with the University of Miami. Richard Stiglitz and Mike Stephenson become Marathon’s first All-State team members. |
| 1972 | CSHS | 21-0 | |
| 1973 | CSHS | 6-0 | |
| 1974 | MHS | 22-0 | Current CSHS Athletic Director Rich Russell sets the Florida high school record for longest punt with an 88-yard bomb. |
| 1975 | MHS | 13-2 | |
| 1976 | MHS | 24-0 | Jim Keeney coaches Marathon to its first winning season. |
| 1977 | MHS | 38-6 | |
| 1978 | CSHS | 24-6 | Both teams set school records for most wins in a season – six for Marathon, seven for Coral Shores. |
| 1979 | MHS | 12-7 | |
| 1980 | CSHS | 19-0 | Marathon sets a new win record with eight in the 1980 season. |
| 1981 | CSHS | 25-15 | |
| 1982 | CSHS | 14-0 | |
| 1983 | CSHS | 33-13 | Coral Shores quarterback Joe Secatore is named Miami News Player of the Year. |
| 1984 | MHS | 22-20 | |
| 1985 | MHS | 14-8 | Marathon’s Troy Campbell is named Miami News Player of the Year and earns first team All-State honors. |
| 1986 | MHS | 35-14 | Marathon’s Vernon Goodwin and Coral Shores’ Fran DeLaney earn first team All-State honors. |
| 1987 | MHS | 39-19 | Marathon wins a record nine games led by Vernon Goodwin, Campbell and Odell Robbins, three All-State team members. Troy Campbell wins Miami News Player of the Year honor for the second time. |
| 1988 | MHS | 19-7 | Coral Shores wins first G.A.C. football championship. Miami News names Coral Shores’ Rich Russell Coach of the Year and running back Glen Slayton Player of the Year. |
| 1989 | CSHS | 21-6 | ’Canes offensive lineman Augie Wampler earns first team All-State honors. |
| 1990 | CSHS | 21-0 | Coral Shores quarterback Dee Fernandez earns first team All-State honors. |
| 1991 | MHS | 71-6 | Coral Shores quarterback David Snowden sets a Florida state record in passes attempted in a single game with 63. Rod Galloway is named to first team All-State squad. |
| 1992 | CSHS | 50-0 | ’Canes quarterback Neil Curtis leads the state with 2,107 passing yards. |
| 1993 | CSHS | 21-0 | Hurricanes win a record 10 games in one season. Desmond “Kiki” Scott leads the state in touchdowns scored with 26 and earns first team All-State honors. |
| 1994 | MHS | 16-12 | Marathon’s Tony Bryant helps lead the Dolphins to victory in the Battle of the Keys. Bryant later went onto play in the NFL, making a Super Bowl appearance with the Oakland Raiders. |
| 1996 | CSHS | 44-18 | |
| 1996 | CSHS | 28-0 | |
| 1997 | CSHS | 36-22 | Marathon’s current defensive coordinator Andre Garvey is named Florida 2A Player of the Year and signs to play at Florida A&M after rushing for 2,427 yards. |
| 1997 | CSHS | 43-32 | |
| 1998 | MHS | 52-0 | Marathon offensive lineman Jimmy Sikora signs to play at University of Miami. |
| 1999 | MHS | 36-0 | |
| 2000 | MHS | 33-14 | Dolphins running back Joey Struyf is named to the All-State team and helped the Fins set a Monroe County season win record with 12. |
| 2001 | CSHS | 42-12 | Jordan Schiengner makes first team All-State roster, later signing to play at University of Central Florida. |
| 2002 | CSHS | 16-14 | Marathon’s Phernando Hill earns first team All-State honors. |
| 2003 | MHS | 31-27 | |
| 2004 | MHS | 12-6 | All 12 of Marathon’s points come off the foot of Ryan Paros, who makes four field goals. Paros later played for Florida Atlantic. Paros, Carlos Lezcano, and Charlie O’Neil all earn first team All-State spots. |
| 2006 | MHS | 46-0 | Sergio Howard is named to the first team All-State roster, scoring 20 touchdowns for Marathon. |
| 2007 | MHS | 49-7 | Current MHS assistant coach Chris Flingos is selected to the second team All-State roster as a linebacker. |
| 2008 | MHS | 44-7 | |
| 2009 | MHS | 64-0 | Marathon’s Ryan Thomas is selected for the first team All-State squad as a lineman and signs with Vanderbilt. |
| 2010 | MHS | 55-0 | |
| 2011 | CSHS | 25-13 | |
| 2012 | CSHS | 38-18 | |
| 2013 | CSHS | 47-0 | Hurricanes coach Ed Holly is named Southeastern Football Conference Coach of the Year after winning the conference title. |
| 2015 | MHS | 16-13 | Marathon’s Sammy Zambrano kicks a game-winning field goal late in the contest. |
| 2016 | CSHS | 38-6 | |
| 2017 | MHS | 43-28 | Despite Hurricane Irma destroying their field, Marathon goes on to win their conference championship led by quarterback Jackson McDonald whose Fins offense scored an average of 40 points per game. |
| 2018 | MHS | 14-0 | |
| 2019 | CSHS | 19-13 | |
| 2020 | CSHS | 41-0 | |
| 2021 | CSHS | 38-8 |
