DETROIT – Grand Valley has been wearing the same shoes since 1985? And they are made of wood?

Not exactly, but Grand Valley State's football team plays Wayne State's football team in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and when they do it is a trophy game. That trophy is – The Wooden Shoes Trophy.

For the purposes of continuing education, note the trophy has been kept comfortable inside the athletic facilities at Grand Valley since 1985 because the last time Wayne State won the game between the schools was 1984. Since, Grand Valley has won 26 consecutive times, including a 17-3 win in Lubbers Stadium a year ago.

The Lakers, of course, wear Adidas, and will Saturday when they visit Wayne State at Adams Field for a 6 p.m. game. It's homecoming for Wayne State, and dancing off the field with a trophy they have not held since consecutive wins in 1983 and '84, would clearly add to the festivities.

The Lakers, of course, would just as soon tote thoe trophy home again across I-96 on the bus.

Oh, and this game is about a whole bunch of things beyond the shoes.

For one, the Lakers want to stay in the GLIAC race and need the win. For two, Wayne State can make a 2-3 start to the season look significantly better with a win over Grand Valley. And for three, while it is not necessarily a rival game between the two schools, it plays like one because the football players know each other.

Check the rosters. The athletes on the field will in some cases be playing high school teammates. For instance, each team has players from the same or rival high schools in Macomb, Rockford, Detroit, Sterling Heights, Southfield and Kentwood on their two-deep rosters.

"It's always a very physical game with a lot of emotion," Grand Valley head coach Matt Mitchell said. "A lot of Michigan kids on both rosters, a lot of kids that played high school football together and when they line up against each other its competitive, pride is on the line and they don't want to lose."

It promises to be a bruising game for another reason as well. It's the way Wayne State plays under head coach Paul Winters, who is 65-63 in his 12th year and took the Warriors to the Division II title game in 2011.

"Paul has been running that system as long as he has been coach, which is ball-control offense, great special teams and a really aggressive blitzing defense," Mitchell said. "That's what they hang their hats on."

Or, we could say wooden shoes in this case.

"They probably blitz more than anybody we play, over 50 percent of the time they send somebody," Mitchell said. "We've found you have to be aggressive against an aggressive defense. We may give up a tackle for loss, but you have to stay aggressive so you can burn them hopefully more than they burn you."

The Lakers have managed to burn the blitz enough to beat the Warriors the last 26 times, but there have been some close calls, like last year.

"I'm sure they feel they have had some opportunities to get us and they know that in some of those they shot themselves in the foot a little bit," Mitchell said. "We expect a tough game against Wayne State because they are always tough games."

The Grand Valley players from the Detroit area were busy this week making sure family members acquired tickets to the game.

"We will have a good crowd on our side," Mitchell said. "Our guys from the east side of the state take pride in that, and take pride in playing for Grand Valley. It's great they get this game for their families to come see them close to home."

The Wooden Shoes Trophy, of course, will not get talked about a lot unless Wayne State manages to finally keep it in Detroit.

It is a symbol of the schools being on opposite sides of the state as in left shoe, right shoe, east shoe, west shoe. That strikes true directly in the series with former high school teammates and rivals lining up against each other in pads.

"We know them, they know us," Grand Valley wide receiver Justice Wright, a senior from Sterling Heights Stevenson said. "That always means something."