Can Thanksgiving football and state title games coexist in New Jersey?
· Yahoo Sports
On Sept. 16, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association announced that all seven state football finals (five public games and two non-public games) would be played at MetLife Stadium on Nov. 28-29.
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For the first time, the governing body of high school sports in New Jersey, is telling teams that have long-standing Thanksgiving Day games that they’ll have to play two games in four days if they make it to the state finals.
While the issue isn’t as prominent in North Jersey, there are deep-rooted Thanksgiving Day rivalries throughout the state, and some of those teams are state-championship contenders.
NorthJersey.com high school sports columnist Darren Cooper breaks down the decision and answers the questions surrounding the issue.
Why did the NJSIAA do this now?
It was a confluence of events.
In a rare quirk, the Jets and Giants are both on the road that weekend, opening MetLife Stadium up for the entire weekend.
The NJSIAA has tried to appease teams that have Thanksgiving Day games by playing their state finals on a weekday at Rutgers the following week. But this year, the NJSIAA is putting its foot down.
While recognizing the importance of Thanksgiving football traditions, the NJSIAA is saying that the state finals should take precedence.
This is not some decision the NJSIAA came up with on a whim. This had been discussed behind the scenes for months once the NFL schedule came out.
Could this just be a one off?
The NJSIAA is at the mercy of the NFL schedulers.
If in 2027, the Jets or Giants are home the weekend of Nov. 27-28 (Thanksgiving is Nov. 25), the NJSIAA could – stress could – try to put some games at MetLife that weekend and put other games later at Rutgers, going back to the old system.
What teams does this impact?
No one knows – at this point – which teams will be playing in the 2026 state finals.
Phillipsburg, perhaps the school with the most storied Thanksgiving Day game in New Jersey (against Easton in Pennsylvania) is a contender in Group 5. Shabazz and Camden, which both play city rivalry games on Thanksgiving, are contenders in Group 3
It was made clear in the NJSIAA’s Sept. 16 announcement that if any of the teams with a Thanksgiving Day game advance to the finals, those games would be Sunday, giving them the most possible time to prepare.
Why did NJSIAA executive director Colleen Maguire say teams have to ‘figure it out'?
Yes, the NJSIAA has preached shortening seasons and players' physical and mental health under Maguire’s leadership. But in this case, she’s telling the individual schools and coaches it’s up to them to handle it.
If a team makes the state finals and has a Thanksgiving Day game, they are free to move that game to a different day (some teams have played on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving) or use back-up players in the game.
Does that cheapen the Thanksgiving Day games? It does to an extent.
What is the rule on football games in one week ?
The rule is no more than two games in nine days.
Hypothetically, Phillipsburg could play in the Group 5 semifinals on Friday, Nov. 20, then on Thanksgiving Day on the 26th and then in the finals on Nov. 29. That would be three games in 10 days.
What has been the reaction in North Jersey?
North Jersey is down to just two Thanksgiving Day games: Dumont-Tenafly and Hackensack-Teaneck.
With apologies to everyone else, Hackensack is the team with the strongest chance of being in a situation of playing twice in four days. Comets coach Brett Ressler said that it would take some thought as to how to approach the situation.
“At some point as a head coach, you have to ask where we draw the line when it comes to player safety and limiting game exposure," he said. "Coaches coach to win and players certainly play to win – especially in a Thanksgiving rivalry that has been around twice as long as the sectional playoffs, let alone the group championships.”
Teaneck coach Cekuan James said he hadn’t thought that far ahead.
Didn't this already happen?
Not exactly like this, but yes. The NJSIAA football season used to end with sectional championship games when the state crowned as many as 24 (yes, 24) football champions (four sectional champs in each public school group and four non-public champs). The NJSIAA introduced true state championships in each group in 2022.
What happened in North Jersey was that coaches prioritized sectional finals over Thanksgiving Day games by playing their JV teams in the game or postponing them completely. This was one of the biggest reasons for the decline of Thanksgiving Day games here.
The other was, and Maguire said this in her comment, a lot of Thanksgiving Day games are not competitive. We saw that play out in North Jersey too. While outstanding community events,the games weren’t close. And even right now, in the two North Jersey games left, Teaneck hasn’t beaten Hackensack since 2012 and Tenafly hasn’t beaten Dumont since 2013.
One of my biggest counter arguments to anyone preaching to me the sanctity of Thanksgiving Day games in New Jersey is the fact that no one in North Jersey that dropped the game ever brought it back, although I believe Eastside-Kennedy will return in some form, possibly in a Labor Day Classic.
Aren’t South Jersey teams going to be mad about coming to MetLife for state finals?
This has become overblown. No South Jersey team is not going to come because of the 100-mile plus ride. And it’s not like it’s been a disadvantage for them. All five public school state championships last year were won by South Jersey teams. Two North Jersey teams won the non-public titles.
Driving, traffic and playing in unfamiliar locations is all part of the playoffs. It’s not North Jersey’s fault that we have the only NFL stadium in the state. And no, you can’t play New Jersey state championship games in Philadelphia.
And how come no North Jersey wrestlers ever complain about making the trip to Atlantic City for the state finals?
But the environment at the state finals would be better at a small college or even at a home school
For who? Listen, I get it. I’ve been at MetLife and Rutgers for state finals with fewer than 1,000 people and it’s quiet.
But it’s not about the media, or the coaches, or the fans. The opportunity to play a game in an NFL stadium for a state championship is a moment that belongs to the players, you know, the ones who did all the work to get there.
Whether there are 800 people or 8,000 people at the game creates a perfect environment for the people who matter the most.
What’s the optimal solution?
You could change the football calendar in New Jersey in different ways. You could back it up a week or remove a week of the regular season, or remove a round of playoffs (now there’s a thought) and the season could end the weekend before Thanksgiving and you could work backwards from there with the schedule.
The drawback? At least one or two games before Labor Day for everybody, plus practice starting in early August.
If you ended the season before Thanksgiving, then the Thanksgiving Day games would function like bowl games and you could have some amazing storylines with a state champion then playing a game against their ultimate rival days later.
Or, push the season out one more week and have it end the weekend after Thanksgiving weekend. You’d still have the Thanksgiving Day game conflict and there’d be more teams involved because it would be semifinals weekend, but there’d be more flexibility for the dates.
Lurking and looming over any football calendar decision is the start of wrestling and basketball season around Thanksgiving.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Can Thanksgiving football and state title games coexist in New Jersey?