Many cold to game switches

There’s been clamor over how the Thanksgiving Day football games have lost their meaning because of the new football format. Many coaches and players turned in performances during a record-setting cold front that makes one believe that the Turkey Day tradition still exists in many communities. Anyone willing to echo that sentiment within earshot of Xaverian coach Al Fornaro does so at their own peril. Moments after the Hawks knocked off St. John’s Prep at Fenway Park to clinch the Catholic Conference title, Fornaro had a comment for the negative nellies who live to complain. “Some people in the state think Thanksgiving games don’t matter,” Fornaro said. “Well you tell me, did that matter to people on the sidelines? The people who say that don’t know the first thing about football.” Even more telling were the comments made by St. John’s Prep. Even though the Eagles will be playing in the Super Bowl, several players and coaches lamented the fact that they lost to the Hawks once again. While that game was played on a Wednesday night, there were many examples of schools that still treasure the lure on playing football on Thanksgiving morning, regardless of the temperature (kickoff at Austin Prep was a brisk 15 degrees). Nowhere was that more evident than in Braintree, where the powers-that-be decided to move the game to Wednesday to avoid the frigid Thursday morning conditions. As soon as the decision went public, there was a major outcry in the community. One of those critics was Braintree star running back Billy Silvia, who voiced his displeasured via Twitter. “The Thanksgiving game is a game to remember for the players entire lives, it will not be the same on a Wednesday,” Silvia tweeted. “The players feel disrespected by the decision. The cold should not stop a memory of a lifetime.” The game was moved back to Thursday and Silvia backed up his words. He ran for 198 yards and four touchdowns, while adding a field goal to lead the Wamps to a 35-21 victory over Milton. While some did move their games to Wednesday, 68 games in Eastern Massachusetts were played Thursday. One of those games was King Philip and Franklin, where two-time defending state champion KP defeated the Panthers, 23-16. King Philip coach Brian Lee delivered a postgame comment for the ages to colleague Greg Dudek in regards to moving the game. “No. That’s ridiculous. The world is so soft now,” Lee said. “It’s the wussification of the world. It’s Thanksgiving Day. Isn’t it supposed to be cold? Supposed to be snow? ... How cold was it? It wasn’t that bad.” Thanksgiving might be dying in some communities, but it is alive and well in many other places.

SWEET 16

1. NORTH ANDOVER (11-0): Scarlet Knights took control early and never looked back in defeating rival Andover. 2. CATHOLIC MEMORIAL (9-2): Knights have avenged one of their losses, now they get a chance to settle all scores against St. John’s Prep in the Div. 1 Super Bowl. 3. EVERETT (10-1): Crimson Tide ended the season with an offensive flourish, scoring 80 points in their last two games. 4. XAVERIAN (8-2): Hawks may have been banged up, but showed a lot of guts in beating St. John’s Prep for the Catholic Conference title. 5. ST. JOHN’S PREP (9-2): Eagles have a chance to erase the bitter feelings at Fenway with a strong effort at Gillette. 6. KING PHILIP (9-2): Warriors had every opportunity to take a knee against Franklin with a Super Bowl on the horizon, but that’s not how the two-time champions operate. 7. CENTRAL CATHOLIC (8-3): Chuck Adamopoulos may have done his best coaching job, squeezing eight wins and an epic upset over Everett with a largely untested team. 8. TEWKSBURY (11-1): Congrats to Redmen coach Brian Aylward on getting his 150th win on Thanksgiving against Wilmington. 9. DUXBURY (11-1): Big effort on both sides of the ball by Will Prouty helped pave the way to victory over Marshfield. 10. SCITUATE (11-1): The S and S boys, Aidan Sullvan and Will Sheskey, strike again. 11. ACTON-BOXBORO (9-2): Only two losses came to the elite programs, Everett and St. John’s Prep. 12. LINCOLN-SUDBURY (9-2): James Dillon capped off a terrific senior season by etching his name into the school record books for most touchdowns in a year with 20. 13. OLD ROCHESTER (11-0): Good to see Will Garcia, who missed a large chunk of the season with an injury, come back to be productive. 14. STONEHAM (11-1): Crushing Turkey Day loss to Reading, but Bob Almeida has been around long enough to know how to rally his troops for the Super Bowl. 15. NORTH ATTLEBORO (8-3): Freshman quarterback Tyler DeMattio etched his name into Red Rocketeers folklore as he came off the bench to rally his team. 16. DANVERS (8-3): Falcons capped off a solid season with a solid win over Gloucester.