Prep football has left the Thanksgiving menu

high schools have left today's playing field to the NFL, colleges.

By Toby Carrig ~ Southeast Missourian

The football equipment is packed away at Central, Jackson and Perryville high schools.

Only St. Vincent High School still is practicing for a game.

It wasn't always that way for Thanksgiving.

Turkey Day football games were part of the scene in Southeast Missouri for decades until the 1960s.

"They stopped a long time before I was playing," said Jackson coach Carl Gross, who played football at Central High School in the late 1960s.

"A lot of it had to do with the fact families could drive somewhere for the holiday," he added. "Now it blends into winter sports with the wrestling and basketball programs. We've already started winter sports and a Thanksgiving Day game would affect that."

Gross was a participant in another factor that brought the end of Turkey Day games: the state playoffs.

"I played twice the day after Thanksgiving," Gross recalled.

The state's high school activities association began conducting state playoffs in 1968.

Jackson ended its intermittent tradition of playing Thanksgiving Day games in 1965 with a 33-6 win against Charleston. The Indians' last Thanksgiving meeting with Central was in 1941.

Central ended its Thanksgiving contests in 1960 with a 28-13 win against Poplar Bluff in the Silver Boot game. The Southeast Missourian reported that day it would be the last such game for Central, as school officials called for future seasons to end the Friday before Thanksgiving due to family events around the holiday.

Jackson played on Thanksgiving Day most years in the 1960s, often meeting with Perryville.

Current Pirates coach Rick Chastain said he wouldn't mind coaching a game today.

"It's a shame," Chastain said. "I wish it was still being played, but with all the sports we try to get in every year, it's just not possible."

Of course, he'd prefer to be preparing a team for the state championship, as he was doing as a part of Chaffee's staff in 1983. "When you're in the playoffs, you don't worry about the holidays," Chastain said. "You worry about practice schedules. You don't get to play for a state championship every year, but you can eat turkey legs any time."

Chastain, who grew up in the St. Louis area, often attended in his youth what remains the state's only Turkey Day rivalry: Webster Groves vs. Kirkwood.

Those two schools play noon today in Webster Groves for the 89th meeting in a series that dates back to 1907.

Webster athletic director Tim Moore said the series survived because it was such a large part of both communities.

"If my understanding is correct, the two schools opted out of the state playoff system when it started," Moore said. "After a couple of years, they decided to join the playoffs. But it's such a powerful, powerful thing that has been part of the two communities for so long. It's withstood the test of time. I think the two communities would lose some of their identity if the game wasn't played."

The game has been impacted by the state playoffs. It was not played in 1988 due to the playoffs, and the compromise of having junior varsity teams play was enacted for 2002 and 2003 due to playoff appearances for varsity teams.

While most teams may be more interested in the state playoffs, the coffers of both Webster Groves and Kirkwood are enhanced when the varsity teams have good seasons and meet in good weather.

"Each school keeps all the money on any presale tickets," Moore said, "and the gate is split after game expenses. The last time we had both varsity teams, the walkup was close to $20,000. We average between 6,000 and 8,000 depending on the weather."

Moore, who coached Webster Groves to a state basketball title before becoming AD, said the rivalry game does present a challenge for the winter coaches.

"It's always a struggle at both schools for the wrestling and basketball coaches," Moore said. "You have to be flexible and open-minded. One year when the JV teams played, they didn't find out until Monday before that the freshmen and sophomores would have football practice. You have to be easy to work with or it can really challenge your schedule."