Thanksgiving football games carry tradition, playoff implications

Nov. 19, 2012

By Chris Maza

chrism@thereminder.com

GREATER SPRINGFIELD — It is a tradition so deeply entrenched in the fabric of Massachusetts high school football that any plan for a statewide playoff system was contingent upon its survival.

It's the Thanksgiving Day rivalry game.

For many teams, this is, to steal a term from college football, the granddaddy of them all, the one shot at glory after a long season.

But for many others, while the game and the rivalry are important, its implications in the league standings and playoffs make it even more so.

Most of the time, there is no need for extra incentive for the Thanksgiving Day game between Longmeadow and East Longmeadow high schools to be a big to-do.

"The East Longmeadow-Longmeadow Thanksgiving game has been a great rivalry during my years here," Longmeadow head coach Nick St. George said. "Our coaches are friends with their coaches, and in many cases our players are friends with their players. We run similar offenses and we work with each other during the off season."

This year, however, East Longmeadow is one team whose playoff hopes hinge on Thanksgiving success.

The Spartans, who take to their home turf at 10 a.m. against Longmeadow, are currently sixth in the Division 2 Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) power ratings, of which the top four teams qualify for postseason play. While just above .500 on the season at 5-4, the Spartans are no slouches, as their schedule will attest.

After starting the season 1-3 with losses to Foxboro, Suburban League leader South Hadley and No. 1 Springfield Central High School, East Longmeadow has righted the ship, going 4-1 while navigating through the heart of its AA Conference schedule. Their lone loss came at the hands of Minnechaug, who found itself in a dogfight until it pulled away in the fourth quarter.

That said, the Spartans still trail Amherst (fifth) and Hoosac Valley (fourth) in the ratings. To have any shot, the Spartans must win convincingly and hope that Northampton tops the Hurricanes. They will get no help from Hoosac Valley, whose Berkshire League schedule ended on Nov. 3 with a win over Drury.

Senior wide receiver Sam Blake has been outstanding for the Spartans as the most reliable target for quarterback Dan McGuill with more than 30 catches and 600 receiving yards.

Longmeadow is assured a playoff spot in Division 1, but still has plenty of reason to take this game seriously. East Longmeadow has played tough football against the Lancers historically. In 2008, the Spartans snapped Longmeadow's 47-game winning streak. The next two years were one-score victories for the Lancers — 21-19 in 2009, 13-7 in 2010. Last year, Longmeadow was able to dominate a young East Longmeadow squad 35-14.

Longmeadow has had its hiccups this season in the form of losses to Central and Central Massachusetts power St. John's (Shrewsbury), but the Lancers remain one of the strongest teams in the region, led by a talented and accomplished senior class that includes Austin Sierra, Frankie Elder, Mike Sell, Steve Kushnell, Devante Clarke, Lou Calabrese, Joe Lee and Ron McClure.

The Lancers also have the emotional lift of a huge 16-12 win over Minnechaug on Nov. 9.

Minnechaug at Central, 10 a.m.

Central High School has been at the top of the rankings since they topped Longmeadow on Oct. 12 and since then no one has really come close to overtaking them.

The Golden Eagles have an undefeated record in Western Massachusetts, including a 6-0 mark against the AA Conference. Their lone setback of the season is a 33-14 loss to the state's top-ranked team, Everett.

Even when the team lost its star quarterback Cody Williams because of a two-game suspension, the Eagles kept rolling as his cousin Ju'an Williams provided a spark. Running back Aaron Owens has done more than his share as well with three 100-yard rushing games and two others in which he just missed the century mark.

With a win over Longmeadow in its back pocket, it is unlikely that a loss would knock the Eagles out of the top spot in the Division 1 playoffs. Still, the Eagles are not taking this game or its opponent lightly.

"The Thanksgiving game versus Minnechaug is a very important game on our schedule. For the last couple of years this game has had serious playoff implications. This year isn't any different," Central coach Valdamar Brower said. "We're approaching this game like a playoff game because we have a playoff team as an opponent. I expect our team to continue to work on our execution and limit mistakes and penalties."

Minnechaug is a playoff team that appears to have its ticket punched as the third seed in the playoffs. A Longmeadow loss and a Minnechaug win would at best allow the Falcons to slide into the second seed, meaning they would still play a third-seeded Lancer squad. Even a loss by Central and a Minnechaug win would not be enough to bump the Falcons to the top spot.

Even without any real playoff incentive, Minnechaug coach Steve Allosso said he and his team are excited for a chance to perform in a playoff atmosphere against a top team on Thanksgiving.

"High school football games on Thanksgiving morning is one of things that make the United States great and makes a statement by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that it is indeed a special place," he said. "Minnechaug is a school of around 1,150 students, Central has over 2,000 students, so what a great opportunity and day for a small town school to have the unique chance to play not only a school twice its size, but a school with a tremendous amount of talent.

"Playing on Thanksgiving means everything to our kids, school and community," he added

Minnechaug's playoff status is an impressive feat in and of itself, considering the number of injuries the Falcons have incurred this season.

After losing quarterback Alan McDonald for a large chunk of the season, Ben Sheehan took the team on his back, rolling to more than 1,000 yards on the season. The Falcons' Nov. 9 loss to Longmeadow was the first time since the team's Sept. 28 loss to Marblehead in deplorable weather that Sheehan did not reach 100 yards on the ground or score a touchdown.

Cathedral at Westfield, 10:30 a.m.

For these two teams, pride is on the line.

Cathedral won its season opener at Ludlow 28-24, but since then has gone winless.

Westfield's 2-8 record doesn't quite indicate how well this team has played. On Nov. 2, they gave Central a big scare in a 19-14 loss and nearly completed an amazing comeback against playoff contender Northampton a week later.

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