Annual Thanksgiving Day high school football thread

Thanksgiving games were a huge tradition in many parts of Pennsylvania. It made for a rather awkward transition into state playoffs over the past 30 years, because some state powers intimated that they'd rather keep the Thanksgiving Day game than play a state playoff game that weekend.

At least twice, Easton has played its Thanksgiving Day game and turned it around to play a state playoff game two days later, because they refuse to give up the tradition.

 

One of the teams I'm covering tomorrow is already in the playoffs. And the coach for whom the field was named died yesterday.

 

Here they play Thursday, then playoffs are on Tuesday night.
I'll be up early for football ... always fun on Thanksgiving.

 

Same schedule in Connecticut and Eastern Massachusetts, Rhody.

Stupid Scheduling Move of the Year earlier this year called for one game to be played at 6 tonight. Apparently people came to their senses, since said game was listed for a morning start in my paper today.

 

8-man state finals were last Saturday, 11-man finals this Saturday.

 

Haven't had Thanksgiving prep football here in nearly 40 years. State semifinals Saturday, then the championships the following Saturday.

 

Got East Stroudsburg South vs. Stroudsburg starting up now on cable. That's one of the traditions remaining in Pennsylvania. Of course, neither of those schools are ever in the state playoff mix, either.

 

NJ is screwed up in terms of its state playoffs. They have the public schools in four Groups based on size and the non-public schools in four groups based on size.
Each of the public school groups is divided into 4 sections based on geography.
So the state playoffs end with the 20 sectional champs - and each one gets to call themselves a state champion.

The sectional semifinals were last weekend, this weekend the playoffs take a week off for Thanksgiving games, and then conclude next week.

 

Actually, JOe, there are 16 pubklci sectional champs (4 groups, 4 sections) and 4 State champs in the non-public (by group statewide).

Finals are next weekend, mostly at Giants Stadium (2 Friday, 4 Saturday) and Rutgers (2 Friday, 4 Saturday, 3 Sunday).

We had 3 "Thanksgiving" games last night, about 15 this morning and 3 each Friday and Saturday. Thanksgiving football is still a big deal in some North Jersey towns.

 

Went to the 84th renewal of my HS's Classic.
Big win for alma mater, which has stumbled out of the playoff picture after an 8-0 start.

 

Hamilton High blows out Steinert 40-something to 20-something in Central Jersey Turkeyballery.

 

The football champions in Maine are decided in late-October, early-November....but two teams in southern Maine - Portland and Deering - get together for a turkey bowl. They used to be big powerhouses, but I think they've been mid-tier the last few years.