DOVER — When rivals Dover and Caesar Rodney High square off on the football field, it may feel like life and death.

But it isn’t really, of course.

And the Riders’ and Senators’ coaching staffs wanted to take a moment on Wednesday to remind their players that, at the end of the day, they’re all part of the same community.

So the two staffs played a softball game at Dover’s Schutte Park. It not only gave the two programs the chance to get together in a friendly atmosphere but it raised some money for the Dover-CR youth football league.

Dover, like many other communities in the U.S., has seen its share of violence lately.

“In today’s world you’ve got to do things a little differently,” said Dover coach Dante Jones. “It’s about bringing kids together, bringing a community together.

“Rivalries are great but, in this day and age, with how things are going on in the world, there’s more violence out here. If we can bring our young folks together and we can show them that us, as adults, we are all one big family, maybe we can dial back some of the violence that’s plaguing our communities.”

Jones and first-year CR head coach Dan Candeloro are both former Delaware State football players. They hope to make the softball game an annual event.

The coaches who took part in the game made a donation that will go toward the Dover-CR league. The goal is to donate money toward a different youth league every year.

Both high school football teams are getting ready to open preseason camp on Saturday as practice for the state’s fall sports teams start.

“I teach our players, there’s only one time a year that we are on different sides,” Jones said about CR and Dover. “Other than that, we should be one big family — and that’s the goal. The more times that you know people from other schools and you know them by name, it’s less likely that you’ll have any problems. You know that person. It’s not just a kid from CR or a kid from Poly or a kid from Dover. That’s so-and-so from Dover and it means so much more.”

Sports editor Andy Walter can be reached at 741-8227 or walter@newszap.com.