A few days have passed, but one memory keeps repeating from Thanksgiving. It took place at the Lowell-Haverhill game, where the Red Raiders lambasted the Hillies.
After the final snap, both teams huddled up. For a brief instant, it was impossible to determine the winners from the losers. The only sight on the field was a group of young men listening intently to their coach. It was easy to hear both coaches celebrate their seniors, who had just finished their final high school football game.
Thanksgiving football is a combination that goes together like turkey and gravy, especially when surrounded by the pageantry of marching bands, cheerleaders and lettermen jackets. But it is also bittersweet, marking the end of a significant chapter in life.
“Thanksgiving is much more than a game,” said Mekhi Volcy, a wide receiver for Bedford High. “It’s a chance to play with the kids you grew up with one last time.”
Volcy is far from finished with his football career. He is set to play at Boston College, yet his sole focus on Thanksgiving morning was soaking up every word of the pre-game speech from Bedford coach Tom Tone.
“Coach Tone’s pre-game speeches hit hard,” said Volcy, whose Bedford team defeated Burlington. “That’s what I’ll miss most on Thanksgiving. Coach reminds us why we’re playing this game – it’s not for the stat sheet, it’s for the guy next to you.”
Over the summer, I covered an event where Peyton Manning was speaking. Long before putting together a Hall of Fame career in the National Football League, Manning played his high school football at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, La. Given the opportunity, I couldn’t pass up asking about a memory from his final time putting on his pads beside his high school teammates.
“High school football is very special to me,” said Manning. “I still remember walking off the field for the last time. It doesn’t really sink in that it’s over until after the fact. To me, it’s about enjoying the journey, not the destination. You don’t know what’s going to happen next. I think of what Nick Saban says – be where your feet are. It seems to be a simple statement, but it has a lot of meaning. Be present where you are. Your last year of high school football, you better enjoy it.”
Patrick Sheehan has a deep appreciation for the Thanksgiving Day game. In two seasons coaching at Masconomet, he has led the program to new heights – believing that all roads lead to Thanksgiving.
“From the coin toss to the final whistle, you know this is it,” said Sheehan. “It’s special, but the finality of that is also difficult.”
Masco doesn’t have much history with Thanksgiving opponent Northeast Regional, yet Sheehan still emphasized the significance of the game.
“That was the last chance for our seniors to show what they meant to Masco football – and what Masco football meant to them,” said Sheehan, whose Chieftains defended their home turf, 42-20. “There is always that sense of responsibility to finish the right way on Thanksgiving.”
For every winner, there is also a team that falls short. A loss on Thanksgiving stings, but even that cannot diminish what has been accomplished by players and coaches.
For the past decade, Tyler Connolly has been around Bishop Fenwick football. He is the third member of the family to play for Dave Woods and his staff. A senior captain – just like his brothers before him – Connolly has transformed from an 8-year-old water boy to one of the top players in the conference.
“I probably wouldn’t have said this a couple years ago, but I’ll really miss those lifts at five in the morning,” said Connolly, whose Crusaders fell short on Thanksgiving against St. Mary’s. “That is more than any win or loss. Knowing we had school later that morning, knowing we had practice after school, none of us cared about any of that. We had one goal at those team lifts, and it was all for the benefit of the team.”
James Runner has seen Thanksgiving in Lynn from every angle. He played for Classical in its heated rivalry against English and coached on the staff at St. Mary’s before taking charge at Lynn Tech, and Runner believes Thanksgiving is more than one game.
It’s bragging rights for the whole year.
“It’s all about tradition,” said Runner. “We’re teaching our players how to be young men, and tradition is a great way to learn. I love when I see alumni wearing lettermen jackets on Thanksgiving. It says a lot about where you came from and the impact you made there. That matters.”
Lynn Tech plays KIPP on Thanksgiving Eve, a new tradition in Lynn. KIPP won this year’s game, and Runner admitted that the quality of his Thanksgiving dinner most certainly connected with how his team played.
That sentiment was backed up by coaching legend John DiBiaso.
“The turkey tastes a lot better when you win,” said DiBiaso, the head coach at Catholic Memorial. “When I was coaching at Everett and we lost to Cambridge in 2001, that was the only Thanksgiving we lost. My son, who was seven years old at the time, wouldn’t talk to me. I’d ruined his Thanksgiving. It ruined mine, too.”
DiBiaso’s CM squad is on the cusp of another state title. Yet none of the Super Bowl preparations interfered with their Thanksgiving bout against BC High, a date that DiBiaso has circled on his calendar every season.
“Even with the Super Bowl the next week, I would never sit guys on Thanksgiving,” said DiBiaso. “Some coaches sit guys if they’re going to the Super Bowl – we never do. A lot of kids will play their last game that day. We treat it with importance, and we play to win.”
DiBiaso guided his Knights to victory this year, but he has also tasted defeat on the holiday.
“I’ve seen Thanksgiving football from every side imaginable,” said DiBiaso. “My father coached at Chelsea High, and I grew up playing in Everett. When Chelsea beat Everett, they’d have parades in Chelsea Square, where people would be handing out turkey legs to kids on the team school bus. I still remember Everett being state champs in ’61 and ’62, but then Chelsea won on Thanksgiving in ’63. It was nuts, and it felt like they celebrated for a month.
“It is my favorite holiday. I remember games I coached when I was young. I remember coaching when my wife was coaching the cheerleaders, I remember coaching my son. Thanksgiving football runs deep.”
All of this serves as a reminder of the beauty of high school football on Thanksgiving. And there is comfort in knowing that the same spirit – the highs, the lows, the beginnings, and end – will return next year.
“It’s a unique feeling on Thanksgiving morning,” said DiBiaso. “I can’t wait for the next Turkey Day.”
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