Chris Stevens had played or coached in the Turkey Bowl between Xavier and Fordham Prep since the early 1980s and knew that even though the two schools first met in 1886 and had been playing consistently on Thanksgiving since 1927, that wasn’t enough.
“I wanted to restore the rivalry,” said the Xavier alum and head coach, who has to take his team to Brooklyn or Pier 40 in Manhattan to practice because the school’s 16th Street campus barely has a sidewalk, let alone a field.
“We hadn’t won since 1999, and you can’t have a rivalry if only one team wins, no matter how long you’ve been playing each other,” Stevens said.
That drought made Xavier’s 28-14 upset over a Fordham Prep team that had just lost the CHSFL AA championship important – although it wasn’t until this year Stevens realized just how big it was.
“It catapulted us to the title this year,” said Stevens, whose Knights captured their first crown since 1996 on Saturday with a 45-33 win over St. John the Baptist in the A division. “We didn’t finish .500 last year, but that Thanksgiving win gave us so much confidence going into this season.”
Regardless of what happens when the two old Jesuit schools play again today at 10 a.m. at Aviator Field in Brooklyn, Xavier’s season has been a success, but Seamus Kelly still knows how critical it is.
Kelly, now a junior, played his first varsity game in the Turkey Bowl last year and had a team-high 89 yards rushing and a TD.
“I knew the history of it, but until you get in there, you don’t really understand it,” said Kelly.
Now, with many of the Knights about to play their final football game, they have one more ambition.
“The championship was the ultimate,” senior Jimmy Kowalski said. “But we want to go out on a high note.”
*
In other games today, Mount St. Michael hosts Hayes at 10:30, while AA champ Stepinac plays White Plains at Highlands Middle School at 10.