Turkey Day Games

[eprov]

It is Thanksgiving morning 2006. In the predawn darkness, there are men all over Massachusetts and Rhode Island who are out of bed and dressing quietly. They pick up suitcases and equipment bags. They leave the house trying not to wake up the rest of their families. Who are these people? They are football officials headed for some of the oldest high school rivalry games in the country. Playing high school football on Thanksgiving morning in those states dates back to the 1880s. The Wellesley, Mass., versus Needham, Mass., high school game is believed to be one of the oldest prep football rivalries in the country with the two teams having met each year on Thanksgiving since 1883. Other schools, such as Boston Latin and Boston English soon joined the tradition. For one day, at least in New England, the pro sports teams get moved to the back pages of the newspapers
as everyone focuses on the high school games. For the officials, those are the games they look forward to all season long. “For an official this is the best game of the year because team records are meaningless. We see the best competition on Turkey Day no matter what teams are on the field,”
There is a strong sense of fraternity among football officials who work those
games. Crews meet for breakfast where the pregame conferences begin. During the games, the officials invite every senior to come to the center of the field for the coin toss and team captains often receive a memento to remind them of their last game. Thanksgiving Day games are often close, hard-fought and fiercely competitive. No matter what game officials work, they expect to be tired when they leave the field. After the games are over, there is still one more important thing to be done. Having reached the end of the season, the officials gather together one more time. Crews will meet at to socialize, share the experiences of the morning and to wish their brothers in stripes a happy Thankgiving. “Being with my brother officials on Thanksgiving is almost as important as being with my family.”
When the final goodbyes are said and the final handshakes and hugs are
exchanged, the officials go their separate ways for family dinners. There is a
feeling of sadness that the season is over, but it won’t be long before
thoughts will turn to the next Thanksgiving Day.

I can't take credit for this, a brother official worte this article and it appeared in Referee Magazine March 06. I just wanted to share this.

Happy Thanksgiving

[MJT]

I have wondered about these games. Most are in playoffs, or done with their season. How do they play these games? Are they separate from the regular season, or what?

[eprov]

These are regular season games. In fact there are several games that will determine who goes into the playoffs. Foxboro vs Mansfield, St Johns vs Xaverian, Cambridge vs Evertt, Bourne vs Wareham, all are league games and will decide who goes. The playoffs start Tuesday with the winners moving on to Super Bowls on Dec 2 each division. The division are setup as follows1, 1A 2, 2A, 3, 3A and 4

[bisonlj]

Originally Posted by eprov

These are regular season games. In fact there are several games that will determine who goes into the playoffs. Foxboro vs Mansfield, St Johns vs Xaverian, Cambridge vs Evertt, Bourne vs Wareham, all are league games and will decide who goes. The playoffs start Tuesday with the winners moving on to Super Bowls on Dec 2 each division. The division are setup as follows1, 1A 2, 2A, 3, 3A and 4

If I read this correctly your playoffs are only games? It must be pretty tough to get into the playoffs. As I've mentioned here before, Indiana has an all-in system so our playoffs are 6 rounds! The championship teams end up playing 15 games - 9 in the regular season and 6 in the playoffs. The season starts around mid-August and ends this weekend with each of the championship games in the RCA Dome.

[eprov]

In Mass the Football season this year started Sept 8th and ends on Thanksgiving. There are 7 divisions, (divisions are 1, 1A, 2, 2A, 3, 3A, 4), division 4 has only 2 leagues. There are 4 leagues in each division. League winners play in a playoff game. The divisional game winners move on to Super Bowl Game in each division. Most teams will play 10 games during the regular season. The state governing body (MIAA) allows a school to play in a maximum of 12 games during the year including the playoffs.

[ToGreySt]

In NH, we have five divisions that have semi and final games. we just don't have enough teams to do any more rounds. all ofthese games are also before thanksgiving, the last championship game was the 18th of this month. only a couple of schools have turkey games, nothing more than an exhibition game.

However, I do have great memories from high school in RI of the turkey game between Cranston West and Cranston East, one year West won the game to get into the playoffs. I was confused when I started officiating in NH and the turkey games don't have any effect on the standings

Joe