Memorial, West football prepare to face off in Manchester’s Turkey Bowl

The football season is going to end right where it started for the Manchester Memorial and Manchester West high school teams.

The two programs spent the summer squaring off against each other in 7-on-7 drills and they spent time together in a preseason mini camp.

Now they prepare to play one another for the first time in Manchester’s Turkey Bowl at 10 a.m. Thursday at Gill Stadium.

“It’s an opportunity to see what I would say is the two best Manchester teams of the last decade play each other,” West coach Andrew Provencher said. “Nothing is better than having Manchester kids playing Manchester kids for a city championship.

“I know a lot of guys grow up going to this game. A lot of the kids playing in the game were probably there wearing theirs Sabers or Cobras or Bears jersey on Thanksgiving morning. It’s just special to be a part of it.”

For Provencher, who is finishing his second season as the Blue Knights’ head coach, it’s the first time he’ll lead a team into the game. He was an assistant coach at West the last time the team played in the game in 2018.

The Blue Knights will also be looking for their first win on Thanksgiving since 2007, when they beat Manchester Central 19-13. That year was also the last time West had made the playoffs, before this season; the Blue Knights enter the game 6-4 after falling to Pelham in the Division II quarterfinals.

“In a lot of ways, in the 103 years of chapters of West football, one of those delineation points is probably 2007,” Provencher said. “It seems like a lot of the things we’re doing this year, the call back ends up being ‘oh you haven’t done this since 2007.’ That’s cool company to be in.”

Memorial, which beat Manchester Central 15-0 in last year’s game, will be looking to win the city championship in back-to-back years for  the first time.

The Crusaders (7-4) also come after breaking a long playoff absence, reaching the postseason for the first time since 2003. Memorial picked up a win over Winnacunnet before getting knocked out by Exeter in the Division I quarterfinals.

“It’s huge, to have that many kids get that experience, to go and play a really good team on the road in the playoffs and host a playoff game in a game you’re expected to win,” Memorial coach Rob Sturgis said. “It’s huge for all of them to understand what that pressure feels like. It’s a different game, even in the way you prepare for it. Each play just feels so much more important than when you’re in a regular-season game.”

Both coaches, and their captains, agreed their success this season began not long after last year ended.

“We all as a team had a goal in mind, so it wasn’t hard to try to get people to commit to that goal,” West senior Ke’Shawn Foster said. “A lot of us were committed, we didn’t need an extra push for it.”

Seeing the offseason pay off on the field has been a big reward and encouragement for players who will be returning.

“I think it’s great,” Memorial senior Collin Beaulieu said. “We didn’t do too well in the regular season last year, so this feels good, especially senior year.”

In reality, that offseason work begins with Thursday’s game.

“I’ve been saying it all year, it comes down to our offseason,” Sturgis said. “The way we finished last year, with our consolation game against Merrimack and then the Thanksgiving Day game, it’s great for seniors to try to give them one last opportunity to play football.

“But it’s really big for our underclassmen to end the season on a high note, to go into your offseason with some success and momentum to carry you through all the tough times that are about to happen over eight months.”