Super coaches play for victory
Trend seems to favor not resting top players
Critics of the current playoff format love harping on the fact that Thanksgiving Day games no longer are significant because Super Bowl berths and many league championships have long been determined.
Don’t tell that to some of the coaches who will be playing beyond tomorrow.
Lincoln-Sudbury will play King Philip in the Division 2 Super Bowl on Dec. 1, but longtime head coach Tom Lopez insists his team is not treating the Newton South game as a glorified scrimmage.
“Newton South is our Thanksgiving Day rival. It’s a big game for us,” Lopez said. “I can’t imagine going into a game and not coaching to win. Now we might do some things differently like not playing some of our two-way starters on both sides of the ball, but we’re going into the game looking to win.”
Lopez also had a pointed message for those who long for the old playoff system, which was last used in 2012: Many of the same Thanksgiving Day issues were just as prevalent then.
“It really isn’t too different from the old system in that you played on Thanksgiving and then had to get ready the following Tuesday and then the weekend (if you won),” Lopez said. “I think this playoff system is a lot better.”
North Attleboro coach Don Johnson echoed Lopez’ sentiments in terms of how he will approach his holiday contest with Attleboro.
“Any time we go onto the football field, we’re trying to win,” Johnson said. “We had some guys who got banged up (in a state semifinal win against Tewksbury), so obviously we’re going to have to be smart.”
Melrose is competing in its third Super Bowl in four years. The Red Raiders have won the past five Thanksgiving Day contests against Wakefield, and head coach Tim Morris is going all out to ensure the streak extends to a sixth year.
“It’s football, and my feeling is you play to win all the time,” Morris said. “It is a quick turnaround after playing last Saturday, but we plan on playing everyone.”
Dennis-Yarmouth athletic director/coach Paul Funk understands the need to exercise some caution against Thanksgiving Day opponent Nauset with the Super Bowl around the corner, but don’t expect too many concessions in terms of player availability.
“It might change our thinking a little bit, but I love Thanksgiving Day football. It’s still a huge part of football in Massachusetts,” Funk said. “You don’t want kids having two weeks off if you don’t play them on Thanksgiving.
“Everyone who is going to be dressed is going to play. We might go about it a little differently, but we’re planning on playing (the starters).”
Generally speaking, the smaller schools tend to be more careful on Thanksgiving Day. Defending Div. 8 Super Bowl champion Millis has less than 30 players on its roster and is battling some nagging injuries.
Head coach Dana Olson rested players against Medway in last year’s annual matchup and lost, 28-0. The flip side was that he arrived at the Super Bowl with a relatively healthy squad and defeated Maynard, 30-18.
“I think if we hadn’t played Medway during the season (a 27-13 Millis win), we might treat it differently,” Olson said. “We just have to be smart with our game plan, moving some pieces around. We also have to factor in that our Super Bowl opponent (Hoosac Valley) does not have a Thanksgiving Day game.”
Some fans clearly have taken a dim view of going to a Thanksgiving Day game to watch backups and junior varsity players. Duxbury coach Dave Maimaron was eviscerated for sitting his starters against Marshfield last year, leading to a lopsided 53-0 loss. Mashpee coach Matt Triveri had his own moment with an angry fan in 2015.
“I was walking off the field after we lost to Sandwich (7-6) and some lady yelled at me saying if she knew (star running back) Deshaun Dias wasn’t playing, she wouldn’t have shown up and spent the money,” Triveri said with a laugh. “I understand why teams do it because the ultimate goal is to win a state championship. I think for us, it is a little different this year because we are undefeated.
“The kids have the mentality that they want to run the table.”
Middleboro is playing in its first Super Bowl since 1983 when it defeated Westwood, 28-6, in the Div. 4 EMass title game. Head coach Pat Kingman opted for a democratic approach and left it up to his team to decide how to handle the Thanksgiving Day game against Carver.
“I’ve always said this is their team,” Kingman said. “I wouldn’t say it was unanimous, but the majority of the kids felt it was important to them to be ready to play at Gillette.”