Gone are the days of practice spies in the forest, police surveillance to avoid property destruction, and thousands and thousands of fans in attendance for Thanksgiving football in the North Quabbin Region.
The Athol High School and Mahar Regional football rivalry isn’t quite as volatile as it used to be but the 62nd meeting between the schools on Turkey Day commences on Thursday at the Woodward Complex in Orange at 10 a.m.
The rivalry certainly has changed over the years.
“We’ve had our goalpost almost cut down,” Mahar coach Jim Woodward said of the rivalry. “Almost all the way through with a hacksaw. We had to get it welded.”
The players in 2019 play hard on the field but that’s where it is left when the game ends, according to Woodward.
“It’s different because back then, way back, the kids didn’t interact,” Woodward said. “They interact more now. There are a few who carry that animosity toward the other school. Outside of athletics they are friendly.”
When it is the final game of the season with no playoff implications the ramifications lessen, but bragging rights are still there for the taking.
“Pride,” Woodward said. “That’s what we are playing for.”
The Red Raiders have won four of the last five meetings on Thanksgiving and lead the overall series 51-31-1.
“It’s gotten a lot less serious as the years have gone by,” Athol coach Bill LaRose said. “It was big when they were Orange. They would defend each other’s goal posts to keep them from ripping them down. It’s got some history.”
Orange became Mahar in 1957.
The teams began playing during the regular season in 2016 which has diluted the importance and meeting of the Thanksgiving Day matchup.
“The worst thing that happened to the rivalry is that we started playing that game,” LaRose said. “We’ve played once in the year and it kind of cheapens Turkey Day. That was our biggest fear. It would be nice to just see (Mahar) once a year.”
The Red Raiders head into the 2019 game as heavy underdogs. LaRose recalled a memory from 1978 where the heavily favored team lost.
“I was in junior high and Athol had a Super Bowl team,” LaRose said. “They had already gotten their invite. It was a snowy field. Mahar beat them in a one point game.”
Mahar defeated Athol last season on Thanksgiving, 28-0.
The first contest between the two teams was in 1894, when Orange defeated Athol, 18-4.
The lowest-ever score was a 4-0 win for Orange in 1897.
Athol had a 16-5 record against Orange.
“It still means a lot to people in town,” Mahar coach Jim Woodward said. “You get to brag that your team won. It’s like you are playing your brother, you want to beat the heck out of them but you still love the kid.”
The most lopsided finish in the game was a 52-0 Athol win over Orange in 1926.
