Thanksgiving is for family unless you’re still playing high school football

Most Americans look forward to some time off for Thanksgiving Day, but at least one group of Texans is an exception.

If you coach high school football in this state – you hope and want to be working over the holiday.

“I’m going to promise you, there’s nothing sweeter than working and coaching over Thanksgiving,” Arlington High coach Scott Peach said. “You know when you are, there are very few football teams left playing in the state of Texas.”

An early-bird deal

Most years, the week of Thanksgiving falls during the third round of the Texas high school playoffs. This year, though, it’s the second round, so more teams than normal are pairing their turkey dinners with game preparations. Some unexpectedly.

“We had a mom email a coach last night saying they were planning on being out of town this week, that they really didn’t anticipate us still being in the playoffs,” Trophy Club Nelson coach Travis Pride said. “I thought that was kind of funny. I don’t know if a few had to change plans. It wouldn’t surprise me if a few did have to alter their plans.”

You could probably forgive some Bobcats parents for the assumption. Nelson started the season 1-5, but for the second year in row, turned it on down the stretch and made the postseason. Unable to upset Allen a year ago, the Bobcats did pull off an upset this season by beating Denton Guyer in the bi-district round.

“Right now we’re playing our best football, so it’s really exciting for us,” Pride added. “It’s good sign of your program. Some might feel like, ‘Ugh we have to keep practicing,’ but our kids were here early and fired up. They’re very excited. I think they’re OK to sacrifice some rest and relaxation.”

Savor the experience

This year, 17 Tarrant County area Class 6A and 5A teams are still playing, up from seven Thanksgiving week teams in 2016. For some perennial powerhouses like Aledo, Thanksgiving and football practice have become status quo. It’s been nine years since the Bearcats were last home for the holiday.

“It’s always been a mark of a successful season when you get to practice over Thanksgiving,” Aledo coach Steve Wood said. “It’s a lot of fun. I’ve never heard a coach complain about having to work over Thanksgiving.”

Euless Trinity coach Chris Jensen got to spend the past two Thanksgiving holidays away from the football field. He didn’t like that at all, especially given Trinity’s propensity for annual runs deep into the postseason.

“It is strange. We like to work on weekends and holidays. We’re a strange bunch of people,” Jensen said. “It’s a crazy way to make a living, but it just shows you we love what we do. The more we can do it, the happier we’ll be.”

Players are generally happy about practicing over Thanksgiving as well. It helps that classes are out for most schools, meaning the players aren’t having to juggle school and football during the holiday week.

“I think a good thing about it is that it is different,” Jensen said. “We’ve been at this for a long time at this point in the year. It gets pretty repetitious. To have a change where you’re practicing without school is kind of an uplift for them. It shortens the day for them.”

“We’re trying to go deep, so we’re just going to try to have fun and keep playing,” Arlington defensive back Xzavier Guyton said.

Family affair

The common approach is for teams to practice in the mornings and allow the players their afternoons of free time. The coaches also try to make sure they keep things entertaining.

“We want to make it fun and make sure they enjoy their high school years,” Arlington Lamar coach Laban DeLay explained. “At the end of every practice we’ll do something we call ‘Bring the Juice’ and have something special that will leave the kids with a smile on their face and enjoy coming back the next day.”

Lamar also takes Thanksgiving week a step further off the field. Following the Thursday morning practice, the team hosts a pot luck lunch where players, managers and coaching staff all bring food and sit down to eat together.

“It was a big hit a couple of years ago, so we’re looking for the same this year,” DeLay said. “There’s an opportunity to have a couple of Thanksgivings, one with your Lamar Viking football family and the other with their personal family.”

Senior quarterback Kaden Hadawi loves the idea, as do his teammates.

“It’s great for chemistry. We’re pushing into the playoffs and the most important time of the season, so chemistry is a big factor in that. To spend a family-related holiday like that with a family of yours, it’s great to do so,” he said. “It’s great for the community and for team bonding. Coach DeLay always emphasizes being a big family, and this shows that we are one big family.”

Added Delay: “My wife jokes that we want to try to ruin Thanksgiving every year. We always talk about that if your playing over Thanksgiving you’re among the top teams in the state. If you’re doing that consistently, that means your program is pretty solid. So that’s the goal each and every year.”

Game day, really

For at least two towns in Texas, it won’t just be a short practice on Thanksgiving Day, but rather a full day of travel and a playoff game. Wheeler, a town in the eastern portion of the Panhandle, will meet Hamlin, situated just north of Abilene, at 6 p.m. in a UIL Class 2A Division II playoff game in Vernon, which is near the Oklahoma border northwest of Wichita Falls.

“There’s been some negative as far as people wanting to be with family that day, and I understand that,” Wheeler coach Chris Evans said.

The schools had trouble finding a neutral location on Friday, so decided to go with Thursday – a day in these parts typically reserved for the annual Dallas Cowboys game.

“One of the jokes in the fieldhouse has been that it’s us, the Cowboys and the [Detroit] Lions,” Evans said. “That’s who’s playing on Thanksgiving, so we’re excited about the opportunity to be playing the same day as those guys.”

This story was originally published November 21, 2017 at 2:36 PM with the headline "Thanksgiving is for family unless you’re still playing high school football."