It’s Boston Latin vs. Boston English in rivals’ 137th Thanksgiving day game

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On November 28, a high school football tradition renews as the Boston Latin High School Dragons battle the Boston English High School Eagles at Harvard Stadium. This high school football game is one of the oldest Thanksgiving games in the United States.

Boston Latin, 19-6 victors in last year’s big game, has dominated this rivalry since its inception in 1887 with an 83-39-13 record. Ten of 13 games ended in scoreless ties, the last coming in 1945.

Other records include the longest win streak: Latin’s 15-game win streak (1982-1996, 1998-2012) and English’s four-game win streak (1925-1928).

Most points scored in a winning game are 66 for English in 2021 and 54 for Latin in 2010.

The rivalry had been one of the longest-running continuous high school football rivalries in the United States until that streak was broken during the COVID-19 pandemic year of 2020. Previously, the game had been played yearly, even during World War 1, the Spanish flu, and World War II.

Boston Latin QB Augie Groh drops back as Robbie Townsend runs his route. PHOTO: BOSTON LATIN

It remains the sixth longest all-time New England rivalry behind Phillips Andover vs. Phillips Exeter Academy, Wellesley vs. Needham, Connecticut’s New London vs. Norwich Free Academy, Noble and Greenough vs. Milton Academy and Groton School vs. St. Marks.

The rivalry was an even affair up until the late 1960s. But since then, Latin has dominated the series, winning 52 of 58 meetings, including during the 1970s when they held English to 28 points for the entire decade.

Current English coach and alum Ryan Conway spoke passionately about the rivalry and its meaning to him and other alums. The Eagles are 4-6 this year.

“I played in the 100th game of this rivalry — a 14-0 loss — and I still hold strong memories of that game,” he said. “I am now in my ninth year of coaching football here at English, and I can tell you that so many Boston English alumni still hold deep loyalty to the school.”

Conway continued, “I see older men and women turn out for our games wearing school jackets and cheering mightily for English. This game is personal for me. I remember some of the lopsided losses to Latin — 41-0 in 1992 and 1994, 46-6 in 2001, 44-0 in 2004, 54-12 in 2010, and 50-0 in 2011 — and how there was no mercy given by the winners. That is why it was so rewarding to get back-to-back wins in 2021 and 22, especially the 2021 victory, where we scored 66 points, the most in the history of this rivalry game.”

“I don’t know if the current student body, including some of my young players, understands or appreciates the gravity of this rivalry game,” he added. “But I fondly remember English alumni scaling the walls of Harvard Stadium to congratulate me and my players for those wins and the lasting memories they produced.”

Boston Latin WR Hayden Cooper-DuPont streaks down the sideline. PHOTO: BOSTON LATIN

Latin coach Ray Butler knows the alumni fervor attached to this game. Going into this year’s Thanksgiving game sporting a 5-4 record, he knows that most of the school’s graduates only care about beating English.

“We take this game seriously at Latin, from the enthusiasm of ‘Spirit Week,’ that is culminated by a pep rally the day before the big game, to the game itself,” said Butler, adding, “Whether we are having a good season or not, the big question is always the same: Did you win or lose to English? That has not changed over all these years. And I am sure that it is the same among alumni of Boston English.”

That thought is echoed by English coach Ryan Conway, who said, “That is just the way it is in this rivalry — the passion runs deep and is long-lasting. This game has an enduring legacy for both schools, going back decades before the two schools were across the road from each other on Louis Pasteur Avenue. Some people will tell you that three of their greatest memories in life are their marriage, the birth of their children, and beating Latin or beating English.”

The respective for this year’s Thanksgiving game are August Groh, Ariel Arias, Hayden Cooper-Dupont, Charlie Hauck, and Ethan Sardina for Boston Latin, and Ajhani Graham, Dasani Alvarado, Zeyon Rainey, Alyias Edriss, and Jack Buckley for Boston English. They will now add their names and those of their teammates to the legacy of Boston Latin/Boston English, or Boston English/Boston Latin for those who prefer it that way.

Two schools are entwined by a single high school football game played on Thanksgiving Day. Today, both schools work hard to send their young graduates off to college, a sticking point in the past for Boston English following years of academic underachievement. Students from both high schools will take lifelong memories with them surrounding the 2024 edition of the big game.