A Thanksgiving rivalry game is a high school football game played on Thanksgiving morning, usually between two neighboring schools that have met on the holiday for generations. Some of these games go back more than a century: Needham and Wellesley in Massachusetts played their 138th Thanksgiving game in 2025. Families, students and returning alumni treat the morning as part of the holiday, then head home for dinner.
What Makes a Thanksgiving Rivalry Game Different
A regular-season game is often a Friday-night routine for the people who come every week. A Thanksgiving game happens in the morning, on a day when much of the town is off work and many graduates are back home. That changes who fills the stands. You see current students and parents, but also college kids home for the long weekend, grandparents who played decades ago and neighbors who only go to one game a year.
The opponent rarely changes. These games are built on long-standing matchups, often between towns that share a border or a river. The record between the two schools is something people keep track of, and the result settles bragging rights until next November.
Three Long-Running Games
Every community tells its own version of the story, but a few games show how deep the tradition runs.
Needham vs. Wellesley, Massachusetts
Needham and Wellesley have met since 1882, and The Needham Channel calls it the oldest public high school football rivalry in the country. In the 138th edition, played on Thanksgiving morning 2025 at Hunnewell Field in Wellesley, the Raiders won 20-6. With that win, Wellesley held a 67-62-9 lead in the overall series.
Easton vs. Phillipsburg, Pennsylvania and New Jersey
Easton, Pennsylvania, and Phillipsburg, New Jersey, play across a state line. A 2025 event listing from the Phillipsburg area described their interstate Thanksgiving game as believed to be the oldest in the nation, starting in 1916. The game is played at Lafayette College's Fisher Stadium, which the same listing says sells out quickly each year.
Calvert Hall vs. Loyola Blakefield, Maryland
In the Baltimore area, the Turkey Bowl between Calvert Hall and Loyola Blakefield reached its 105th meeting in 2025. According to the Catholic Review, the game had been played every year since November 12, 1920, until the pandemic canceled it in 2020, and it is believed to be the oldest continual football rivalry between Catholic high schools in the United States.
Why the Game Still Draws a Crowd
The playoffs do not always decide whether a Thanksgiving game matters. In 2025, Wellesley finished its regular season at 4-4, took the eighth seed in the Division 2 playoffs and lost in the quarterfinals to top seed Catholic Memorial. The Thanksgiving game against Needham still went ahead, and it gave Wellesley its first win in the rivalry since 2022. A team can be out of the playoffs and still have the biggest game of its year ahead of it.
That is the appeal. A Thanksgiving rivalry is less about the standings than about continuity: the same two schools, the same morning, the same families in the bleachers. For a small town, it can be the one day the whole community seems to be in one place.
How Communities Build a Morning Around It
The game itself lasts a couple of hours, but the morning often starts earlier. In 2025, the Town of Phillipsburg and the Phillipsburg Urban Enterprise Zone hosted a pre-game tailgate and big-screen watch party on Riverside Way, scheduled from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., with the game shown on a giant screen for people without tickets. For ticket holders, the listing said a free shuttle would run to and from the game.
Other games set firm rules. For the 2025 Turkey Bowl at Towson University's Johnny Unitas Stadium, the Catholic Review reported a 10 a.m. kickoff, gates opening at 8:30 a.m., a clear-bag policy and cashless concessions, and noted that tailgating was prohibited at the request of both schools. At Wellesley, tickets for the 2025 game cost $15 at the high school athletic department office, and organizers asked fans to buy early to smooth entry on Thanksgiving.
Who Comes Back for the Game
Alumni Coming Home
For graduates, the Thanksgiving game works like an informal reunion. You run into old teammates by the fence, introduce your kids to a former coach and compare notes on how the student section has changed. Many alumni dig out an old school shirt for the morning. If you want something that looks like it belongs in the stands now but still nods to the years you spent there, a vintage-style personalized jersey in school colors does both.
A Jersey for Coming Home
Students in the Stands
Current students bring the noise. A Thanksgiving game falls during a holiday break, so the student section has to organize itself without a school day to rally around. Group chats do the work: pick a color theme, agree on a meeting spot and arrive together. If your school held a playoff send-off earlier in the season, the same crowd usually knows how to fill a section fast.
Players' Families and the Last Game
For many seniors, the Thanksgiving game is the final time they put on the uniform. Families who already stood on the field at senior night often feel that ending again on Thanksgiving morning, with grandparents and cousins in town to see it. A shirt with your player's photo is a simple way to bring that feeling into the stands, and it gives relatives who travel in for the holiday something to wear together. Products shown here are independent designs, not official school or team merchandise.
Wear Your Player's Photo
Planning Your Thanksgiving Morning at the Game
A morning kickoff means an early start, so a little planning keeps the day relaxed. Buy tickets the way your school asks, and buy them early if the game is known to sell out. Read the host stadium's bag and tailgating rules before you pack, because they differ from game to game. Leave time for parking at a larger venue, and agree on a meeting spot if your group is arriving from different houses.
Late November mornings can be cold and damp, especially in metal bleachers. Dress in layers you can add as the game goes on; our cool-weather game layering checklist covers what to bring. And talk with whoever is cooking about timing: a morning game usually ends with enough time to get home, but a turkey will not wait for overtime.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Thanksgiving high school rivalry is the oldest?
Several communities make a claim. Needham and Wellesley have met since 1882 and are described by The Needham Channel as the oldest public high school football rivalry in the country. Easton and Phillipsburg's interstate game is described locally as believed to be the oldest in the nation, starting in 1916, so the answer depends on how the record is counted.
What time do Thanksgiving high school games start?
The three games in this article were all scheduled for the morning in 2025: the Wellesley-Needham game was set for 10 a.m., the Turkey Bowl for 10 a.m. and Easton-Phillipsburg for 10:30 a.m. Check your own school's announcement for its time.
Is the Thanksgiving game part of the playoffs?
Not necessarily. In 2025, Wellesley's playoff run ended in the Division 2 quarterfinals, and it still played Needham on Thanksgiving morning. How a holiday game fits with the playoffs depends on your state and league, so check with your school's athletic department.
What if I cannot get a ticket?
Look for a watch party or a broadcast. In 2025, Phillipsburg showed the Easton game on a giant screen at a town tailgate, and the Turkey Bowl was carried live on WMAR-TV. Your school's athletic department or local news outlets are the best place to find out what is available near you.
Sources
- The Needham Channel: Wellesley Snaps Needham's Thanksgiving Game Win Streak
- The Swellesley Report: Wellesley-Needham Thanksgiving football game ticket info
- Catholic Review: 5 Things to Know about the 2025 Turkey Bowl
- Explore Warren: Thanksgiving Tailgate and Watch Party
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