Under the Lights and Morning Sun: The Magic of Thanksgiving Football

The Somerville High School football team celebrates its Thanksgiving Eve victory over Cambridge in November 2024. (Photo by Matt Noonan/Full Gallery)

Thanksgiving is synonymous with family, food, and, of course, football. It’s also a day when high schools across Massachusetts collide on the gridiron.

For some, Thanksgiving morning means a rivalry with the town next door; for others, it’s a tradition rooted in history, stretching back to the late 19th century. (Needham–Wellesley, Winchester–Woburn, and Boston Latin–Boston English ring a bell?)

High school football on Thanksgiving holds a unique place in the hearts of players, alumni, and communities. It’s a game where bragging rights are up for grabs, where records suddenly feel irrelevant, and where the energy surrounding the matchup eclipses everything else.

These games matter — deeply — to countless towns and neighborhoods across Massachusetts. And while not every school suits up on Thursday morning (some now kick off earlier in the week), those who do take the field understand exactly what’s at stake.

Winning on Thanksgiving brings pride, bragging rights, and a burst of momentum that can carry underclassmen straight into the offseason. It’s a chance for current players to make their mark — and for former teammates home for the holiday, slipping into the stands a few minutes after kickoff, to cheer on the program they once helped build.

Thanksgiving football games are often the final time many players don the pads and helmet, hearing their name echo through the stadium speakers one last time. For some, it marks the end of a journey that began with backyard football games with friends and neighbors. For others, it’s a steppingstone — a chance to continue their football careers elsewhere, whether that means competing at the collegiate level or spending an additional year at a prep school.

Of course, many will suit up again — just for a different sport. Many of this year’s football players will trade their cleats for basketball sneakers this winter, then grab their lacrosse sticks or baseball gloves in the spring. But before their attention turns to a new season, their minds remain focused on finishing their high school football careers with a Thanksgiving victory.

Thanksgiving football is special, and something I’ve always looked forward to — even back in my own high school days. I didn’t play for my hometown Westwood High School Wolverines, but you could always find me in the stands, cheering on friends and classmates — including at our annual holiday clash with Holliston during my senior year in November 2005. (Boy, does that feel like ages ago!)

To those competing one last time, I wish you all the best. Go out there, savor the moment, and make memories with your friends.

As Sean Payton, the current head coach of the Denver Broncos, says at the beginning of Kenny Chesney’s Boys of Fall music video: “These tonight’s, they’re going by fast. You focus on tonight.”

So, to everyone reading and preparing to take the field, allow me to paraphrase: make this last game count. And most importantly, have fun playing with your friends while representing your community.

Happy Thanksgiving — and thank you to everyone who has jumped aboard and followed our Noontime Media football coverage this fall. I am extremely grateful for your excitement and support as I do my part to create memories you’ll hopefully cherish, both as future alums and for years to come.