Football on Thanksgiving. It has history in York County. Can it have a future?
It could feel like the biggest game of your life.
It could feel like an afterthought.
That was my experience playing high school football on Thanksgiving in New Jersey. It felt like everyone in town was at the game. Alumni, former teammates, teachers who never came to sporting events, you name it. There had sometimes been a week off of games and an extra week of practice — adding to the anticipation.
It was also a rivalry game that was being played as an exhibition — with your team either midway through the postseason or already eliminated.
It was cool ... but also imperfect.
"It has a neat feeling," Central York head coach Gerry Yonchiuk, who spent 11 years coaching in New Jersey, weighed in. "It's cool to have everyone's families there and the students are home for college. But the elements can make it tough, and sometimes your team has been off for a few weeks."
High school football on Thanksgiving is a tradition in many states, but not throughout Pennsylvania. It does have some history in the Philadelphia area, but not in the central region of the state. The District 3 championship games in the three biggest classifications (Class 4A through 6A) are played the Friday or Saturday after Thanksgiving so scheduling a crosstown rival in a nostalgic, community-building matchup just isn't feasible.
But what if there was a practical way to celebrate that tradition? You don't have to look far to find the blueprint. An all-star game was played in York County on the holiday from 1983 to 2005, often against a squad from Lancaster County.
There are reasons the game was discontinued that would inevitably pop up if it was brought back. The ongoing District 3 playoffs would prevent some of the best players from participating. There would need to be a school willing to host and possibly sponsorships to procure. Some players might be hesitant to risk injury on the eve of winter athletics by playing an exhibition game in a still-dangerous sport.
Still, those who participated in the past have positive memories. And there has been some recent chatter about reviving a new version of the game.
"It was an eye-opening experience for a lot of the kids and a good thing for the coaches," former Central York coach Brad Livingston said. "I was introduced to it when I went to college at West Chester and thought it was one of the coolest things ever."
The history of the game
It started with two cousins kicking around an idea.
Don Carr, a longtime coach at Central York and York High, asked Quarterback Club of York board member Tom Murphy about the feasibility of an all-star football game. They found a local game had been played on Thanksgiving years earlier and set out to bring it back.
The York County All-Star Football Game was debuted in 1983 with the proceeds split between five charities. Players from 17 of the league's 18 teams participated. Only Spring Grove couldn't because it was still playing in the District 3 playoffs.
That was the game's one drawback in its early years. Still, it quickly gained local momentum. York High head coach Russ Stoner was a senior at West York in 1988, and still enjoyed the event even though the Bulldogs District 3 championship game against Delone Catholic later that weekend prevented him from playing.
"They had all the guys that would have made the team come out at halftime, and it was awesome," Stoner said. "It was a great atmosphere. The players loved it. The families loved it."
A year later, the game evolved into a "War of the Roses" game against an all-star team from Lancaster County. As Tom Murphy recalled in an old York Daily Record story, the game "originally created a lot of interest." The addition of a new league meant only the best players were selected.
The time of the year meant the game was often played in icy and even snowy conditions — which became a challenge or an exciting feature, depending on the perspective. Participants in the first game described the experience by saying "it was like kicking a block of ice" and "I can't feel my feet right now."
York held a 10-7 advantage in the series when Lancaster County coaches voted to end the game after the 2005 season, according to previous YDR reporting. The expanding playoff system had made planning the game more challenging. Sponsorships had started to dwindle. The game was also always hosted by a York County school, though there was debate about whether any district on the eastern side of the Susquehanna was willing to host.
"You had to practice a few weeks before the game. What about the kids still in the playoffs? Do you save spots for them? What if their team wins and they advance to the next round?" Livingston said. "It was a lot of fun, but those were the protocol decisions that came up."
Is there a future?
There is a chance an all-star game on Thanksgiving could return to York County.
Red Lion head coach Jesse Shay, who is also the president of the York-Adams Football Coaches Association, said in a text message "the YAFCA is in the planning process of trying to bring it back" but declined to give additional details.
Beyond finding sponsorships and a host school, there are plenty of details that would need to be ironed out.
How much practice time would seniors who make the playoffs need to get ready? For example, Central York played in the District 3 semifinals a week before Thanksgiving this season. Would its seniors be eligible to participate in a game designed to celebrate their careers? If not, at what point would a player whose school had finished its season three weeks prior be contacted about playing?
While the YAIAA has had senior all-star games in sports like basketball for years, football is a different animal. It's not a sport conducive to a carefree, pickup game atmosphere. There needs to be some level of practice involved — similar to spring all-star games like the Big 33 Classic, which has seen a downtick in participation in recent years.
Stoner recalled coaching in the 2004 War of the Roses game as a Central York assistant. Livingston's Panthers ran a spread offense, but retired West York coach Terry Bupp helped install a Wing-T system the week leading up to the game since so many of the players knew it from their own teams.
"It's a ton of work, but I'm a fan of bringing it back if it's on Thanksgiving," Stoner said. "With 22 schools if everyone has at least 10 seniors there's enough kids to pick a team. If you start practice the week before you get could six practices in. I still think that's the way."
It won't be easy, but it could be fun and memorable. After all, that's the point of high school sports.
"The thing that always stood out to me was you brought kids who had been competing against each other into the same locker room," Livingston said. "They got to know each other and interact with each other in a different way. It was a really positive experience."
Matt Allibone is a sports reporter for GameTimePA. He can be reached at 717-881-8221, mallibone@ydr.com or on Twitter at @bad2theallibone.