Following a depleted season of high school football last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tradition of games played on Thanksgiving Day all around Massachusetts has returned to form this season.

Missing the Thanksgiving football games last season shows that as fans and as students, we can take traditions like these for granted at times. However, I believe that the suspense created extra motivation for the players and coaches on both sides, especially with family and friends in attendance, watching from the stands. Also, with Hingham’s loss in the opening round of the playoffs to a strong Milford team, this Thanksgiving Day became extra special for the seniors as it would mark their last time taking the field for a high school football game. Lastly, the players wore commemorative socks when they took the field on Thursday in support of their head coach Mark Nutley and his wife Becky, who has been battling cancer since 2014.

Early on in the first quarter, the Harbormen struck first. Quarterback Dylan Pierce connected on a 30-yard touchdown pass to Henry Crean. Not long after, the Sailors would answer as receiver James Cannon reeled in a phenomenal touchdown grab, tying the game at 6-6. However, no team could maintain control of the game as it remained tied for most of the first half until one minute and thirty seconds left to play. With little time left in the half, Scituate quarterback Henry Gates launched a 74-yard bullet to James Cannon who found the end zone for his second receiving touchdown of the day.

However, the Harbormen would strike back in the second half due to the strong play of their defense, particularly in the secondary. Juniors Tony Fabrizio and Johnny Heffernan each had one late in the late stages of the game and the momentum now transferred back over to the Harbormen. Great plays on defense quickly spread to the offense as Will Griffin scored a touchdown and tied up the game with a successful two-point conversion. The Harbormen’s strong effort in regulation would now need to continue in overtime with the score tied 14-14.

In overtime, Coach Nutley decided to lean on his senior Captain Will Griffin who would run for his second touchdown on the day on the very first play and add on with another 2 point conversion. However, Scituate had one more chance to answer back, down 22-14. After a completed pass, Junior Jack McGorry spoiled the Sailors’ comeback effort, stripping Scituate’s D’Kari Rodrigues, resulting in a fumble that would officially end the game. Just like that, the Harbormen had played their hearts out in the final game of the season and upset one of the best teams in the state on their home turf.

Hingham’s Will Griffin, who played an exceptional game on both sides of the ball, said in an interview after the game, “every kid in that locker room stepped up today”. The seniors could not have gone out in a better way, as they pulled off a dramatic upset victory on Thanksgiving Day. Even the Patriot Ledger, a news source that covers sports across the South Shore and predicts the winner of high school games weekly, picked Scituate to win without much explanation. However, in what Hingham Junior Tommy Barnet believes to be, “one of their best and most well-rounded games of the year”, the Harbormen emerged victorious against all odds. While unfortunately, this was the last game of the season for the Harbormen, the future remains bright for next year due to the outstanding play not only from the seniors but from various underclassmen who look to grow into expanded roles on the team next season.