The Holy War: San Jose's longest-running high school football rivalry
Bellarmine and St. Francis have been playing an annual grudge match since 1915, with two of the West Catholic Athletic League's most decorated programs on the line.
Bellarmine College Preparatory's football program traces back to 1915, when the school was still known as Santa Clara University Preparatory. Its rivalry with Saint Francis High — both academically selective, both athletically ambitious — became formalized as “The Holy War,” an annual game that by 2022 had reached its 76th edition.
Bellarmine plays its home games at San Jose City College rather than on campus, since its own field can't hold the crowd the rivalry draws. The Bells have won 20 West Catholic Athletic League titles and 7 CCS Division 1 championships, with three appearances in the CIF state championship game — a level of sustained success built in part during the 1977–1983 tenure of coach Walt Arnold, whose .82 winning percentage remains the program's best.
San Jose's Catholic school football scene runs deeper than one rivalry. Bellarmine also carries a shorter, geography-driven rivalry with Archbishop Mitty, while Valley Christian, Serra, and Saint Francis round out a WCAL slate regularly ranked among the toughest in Northern California — during the 2025 season, Valley Christian alone played four WCAL opponents ranked in the state's top 20.
Whatever else changes in San Jose prep sports from year to year, the Holy War keeps drawing a crowd more than a century after it started.