WORCESTER—There is no scientific evidence to back this claim but for some reason in our world, North-South is a bigger deal than East-West.
There is North Dakota and South Dakota. There is North Carolina and South Carolina even though part of North Carolina is west of South Carolina. Football coaches want their backs to run north-south. Hockey coaches want their wingers to skate north-south.
We all want our bank balances to be north of zero, not south of it.
Thanksgiving approaches, so once again North High and South High meet on the football field.
Game time is noon on Wednesday, Nov. 22. North is the host team this year.
It will be the 118th time the schools have played. In terms of games played, it is the third longest series in Central Mass. history behind Fitchburg-Leominster and Hudson-Marlboro.
Depending upon how you look at the abbreviated 2021 spring Covid season when the teams did not meet, it is the oldest continuous series in the area. They first played on Oct. 21, 1914 — a 12-0 victory by South — and have played every autumn since then.
South leads the series, 58-50-9. The Colonels have barely outscored the Polar Bears through the 117 games, 1,552-1,515. Two things make this meeting unique.
For the first time since 2005 both teams head into the game with winning records. North is 7-3, South 6-4. In 2005, North was coached by Mike Ross and went into the day 7-3-0. South was coached by Jerry Snay and was 8-2-0.
South won, 29-26. That game, played on Thanksgiving Eve, was as good as advertised, one of the all-time best in the series. Both teams scored four touchdowns. Colonels kicker Ray Davis was 3 for 3 on PAT attempts and that turned out to be the difference.
The other odd fact about this year’s game is the number 1.
That is the difference between how many all-time games the two schools have won through the years. South has played 957 games overall and won 353 of them. North has played 935 and won 352.
So there is a lot at stake.
Neither school, North or South, are in the same location where they opened early in the 20th Century. A lot of history has happened since 1914 and for some people — most teenagers fall into this category — history is what they had for lunch yesterday.
South coach Bob LaRose Jr. has tried to educate his players on their school’s rich football tapestry.
“With these guys,” he said, “I do talk a lot to them about history. So they are aware of a lot. They were aware that we hadn’t beaten Doherty in 40 years. They’re aware that we’ve made the playoffs four years in a row. They’re aware of all those things.
“How it registers with them, how they take it, I don’t know. I know last year’s team was very into it. This team — not so much.”
While the rivalry is an ancient one, the schools did not play on the holiday until 1999. Starting there, the Polar Bears lead the Thanksgiving series by 12-11-0. The Colonels go into this game, though, riding a three-game turkey winning streak.
North is already guaranteed of having its best year ever under coach Dan Chery. The seven wins are already the most for the Polar Bears since that 2005 season. They can score. North has 328 points through 10 games and has hit the 50 mark three times.
Those 328 points are the school’s third most ever in a season going all the way back to 1912.
What do South’s players think of the looming matchup?
Chris Winfield, who knows kids at North, said, “It is a special game to play. It’s a very important game to me and I wouldn’t want to play another team besides North.”
Teammates Jasper Fritz and Ransford Adri made it unanimous.
“Any other day,” Fritz said, “it would not be as important. On Thanksgiving, that makes it a bigger rivalry.”
Adri has accounted for some 2,000 yards of offense rushing and passing and said, “I think it is special because it’s another inner city team. We practice with those guys in the off-season, so I think it’s going to be a competitive game.”
LaRose played at South before the Thanksgiving tradition was established and thinks the tradition is a great thing.
“After these games it’s family oriented,” he said. “They kill each other on the field and after the game, everyone’s taking family photos. These kids know each other. When I grew up in Main South, going to Burncoat was like going to Boston.”
LaRose’s days of growing up in Main South are a while ago, but even then North-South was a great and historic rivalry.
Bill Ballou covered the Red Sox for the Worcester Telegram from 1997 through 2018. He has covered pro hockey in Worcester since 1994 and currently does a weekly column for the Worcester Red Sox. Ballou can be reached at vetgoalie@aol.com
