For most of the Canal Zone's history, Balboa High School's rival was the Atlantic-side Cristobal High School (later Cristobal Junior-Senior High School). Balboa High School had two mascots. The "Red Machine" for students with last names ending in A through K had red and white as the team colors. Students with last names ending in L through Z had the Bulldog as a mascot and their team colors were light blue and white. The Balboa High School Varsity football team mainly played against Cristobal High School and the Canal Zone Junior College. Two other high schools in the Canal Zone, Paraiso High School and Rainbow City High School, were segregated for dependents of the Canal Zone's Afro-Antillean and South Asian employees. Desegregation of these schools began in 1975 and was completed in 1979, at the same time as the Canal Zone's abolition.