We all know how spoiled we are to have the Thanksgiving football traditions that we do in this area.
Amesbury and Newburyport are a top-5 longest rivalry in the state (they first played each other in 1891!), and just two years ago they battled for the 100th time on the holiday. Then just across the marsh — or down route-113 — you’ve got Pentucket and Triton now themselves over halfway to the century mark.
Two storied rivalries that will get renewed once more on Thursday morning.
But before we get there, lets take a moment to appreciate the heroes of the past.
Here’s a condensed recap of the last 11 years of Thanksgiving Day football between Amesbury and Newburyport.
We’ll do the same for Pentucket and Triton in tomorrow’s section.
2024
Trailing by 10 both at halftime and at the end of the third quarter, Amesbury came storming back through an increasingly-heavy rain to pull off the 42-38 all-time thriller. Justin Dube opened the fourth-quarter scoring for the Redhawks, then DJ DiCarlo (22-124, 2 TDs) provided the game-winner on a 4-yard touchdown with 1:46 left. Colin Fuller drove the Clippers down to the plus-20, but a last-second heave into the end zone was tipped by Parker DeLong for the Redhawks and picked off by teammate Ben Wood. Also breaking the century mark for Amesbury was Joe Puleo with 136 rushing yards, while for Newburyport it was Fuller finishing with 150 rushing yards, 135 passing yards and three total TDs.
2023
Kane Brennan rushed for 125 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries, and Newburyport conquered the 100th annual Thanksgiving Day game with an historic 44-26 win. It was a victory that snapped a two-game holiday losing streak, as Jack Sullivan add 87 rushing yards and a TD to help bring the J. Walter Chase trophy back to High Street. Twins Max and Michael Sanchez combined for 159 yards and a score, and Justin Dube threw a TD to Robbie Dalton for Amesbury.
2022
Amesbury got behind offensive lineman Aiden Donovan and Will Arsenault, and ran for 369 yards in a 38-14 drubbing. The Clippers actually scored first on a Bryan Mendez-Heavilin 28-yard pass from Colin Fuller, but the Redhawks would respond with 38 unanswered points. Michael Sanchez (164) and Henry O’Neill (131) each rushed for over 100 yards for the Redhawks, and both Nick Marden and Luke Arsenault had two TDs.
2021
Returning from a stinger he suffered earlier in the game, Shea Cucinotta came flying in to break up a 4th-and-3 pass with just over a minute left to clinch Amesbury’s thrilling 12-7 victory. The game’s three total touchdowns all came in the first half, with Finn Sullivan finding Logan Jones on an 8-yard strike to put the Clippers up early. But Nick Marden responded with a 3-yard score, and a 3-yard TD pass from Drew MacDonald to Oliver Ferreira with 42 seconds left until halftime proved to be the winner. The victory clinched the CAL title for Tony D’Arcangelo and the then-Indians.
2020
No game (COVID).
2019
After being bottled up in the first half, Jacob Buontempo exploded for 150 yards and two touchdowns in the second half to lead Newburyport to a comeback, 34-20, victory. Kyle Donovan rushed for two first-half TDs for the then-Indians, and Brady Dore added a team-high 91 yards to help his team open up a 14-6 lead. But between Walker Bartkiewicz (4 rec., 64 yds, 2 TDs), Buontempo and Trevor Ward (12 car., 109 yds, TD), the Clippers came storming back. Ward also had a clutch interception on defense.
2018
The famous “Ice Bowl” game. With temperatures hovering around 15 degrees and a slippery layer of ice over the Landry Stadium grass, Amesbury held on for the 8-0 shutout win after Patrick Birmingham’s game-clinching interception. A fake punt from Logan Burrill set up the lone score of the game in the second quarter, when QB Blake Bennett plunged in for the 1-yard keeper before Birmingham added the conversion. Seamus Webster led Newburyport with 98 combined rushing and receiving yards.
2017
Owen Bradbury and Myles Maloof combined for 288 yards on 49 carries and three touchdowns to lead Newburyport to a dominant 27-0 shutout. Amesbury was only able to muster 150 total yards as a team, with QB Blake Bennett providing 81 of those through the air and 21 more with his legs.
2016
With time winding down, Blake Bennett found Kyle Martin on a 49-yard touchdown to lead Amesbury to a 22-17 win. Zachary Prentiss rushed for 132 yards and a TD for Amesbury, and Nolan Gouin added 68 yards on the ground. For Newburyport, Ronnie Mwai rushed for 83 yards and a score, and QB Rob Shay threw for 129 yards while rushing in a 7-yard TD. The win broke a three-game holiday losing streak for Amesbury.
2015
In the final game for Newburyport’s all-time winningest coach, Ed Gaudiano, the Clippers rallied from a two-score deficit to stun Amesbury in overtime, 36-34. The thrilling victory was the first game every played on James T. Stehlin Field at World War Memorial Stadium, as the field was dedicated to the “Architect of Newburyport football” the day before. Rob Shay hit Myles Maloof on a 41-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter, sending it to just the second OT game in the rivalry’s history (other 1985). Then in the extra frame, backup QB Owen Bradbury found Nicholas LaValley on some trickery, and Shaw ran in the all-important conversion. Adam Incontri provided the response for Amesbury with a 10-yard touchdown, but the senior QB was stuffed on the conversion by Brian Toolan and Ryan Tamayoshi.
2014
With snow covering the field at Landry Stadium, it was visiting Newburyport holding on for the 27-20 victory. JJ Bajko had a day to remember for the Clippers, scoring two touchdowns while also coming away with a pair of interceptions on defense. Mike Shay rushed for a 13-yard score in the first quarter, then found tight end Tom Isabel on a 14-yarder to put the Clippers up 20-6 midway through the third. Amesbury got touchdowns from Doug Masi on a 17-yard run, and on a 55-yard strike from Jared Dupere to Ryan Foley. But in between, Bajko’s second TD of the day made it a two-score game with four minutes left.