When Schenectady and Albany go head-to-head in sports, it's usually an intense matchup. No matter the age, no matter the sport, it's always a rivalry. 

"It’s like you fighting your cousin down the street,” said Damin Waring, who coaches the Albany Pop Warner Pee-Wee team.

On Sunday, the Belmont and Albany Pop Warner teams faced off at Bleecker Stadium. But before the game got underway, the two rivals met at midfield.

Belmont players and coaches gave Albany players and coaches flowers, shook hands, and exchanged hugs. 

“It was warming for us to come there with open arms and just be there in a time of need,” said Jose Coffil, an assistant coach for the Belmont Pop Warner Pee-Wee team. 

“It was a sentimental moment," Waring said. "I never thought that would happen.”

It's been a tough season for Waring and his Albany Pee-Wee team. Over the last few months, the team lost two coaches to gun violence: Elijah Cancer and Joseph Davis, also known as Coach Seven.

“They meant a lot to the team but more so importantly they meant a lot to the community,” Waring said.

Knowing what this team is going through, several Pop Warner teams reached out to show their support for Albany. That included Schenectady, which brought together two communities, two rivals, in a time of need on Sunday. 

“To see 9- and 10-year-olds come together, it should mean a lot," Coffil said. "It should open a lot of eyes within the community that you got young kids looking up and noticing what’s going on in the community and taking action.”

“Our children really needed this," Waring said. "Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”