Complex sentence: The tradition traces its origins back to the latter part of the last century when a small group of University School students met periodically on a windswept backyard in Pepper Pike, Ohio, to play a game similar to what is now considered modern American Football.
Split into simpler sentences: The tradition traces its origins back to the latter part of the last century when a small group of University School students met periodically on a windswept backyard in Pepper Pike, Ohio. They played a game similar to what is now considered modern American Football.