A 51-year tradition: Seniors from Thanksgiving Day rivals Sachems and Tanners meet again for a pre-game meal

By Mark E. Vogler

For more than half a century now, senior football players from Peabody and Saugus have dined together the week before the Thanksgiving Day rivalry game.

“I consider myself a veteran of this banquet,” Peabody Tanners’ Coach Mark Bettencourt declared last week during his speech at the 51st Annual Saugus and Peabody Lions Clubs’ Football Meeting and Dinner, which was held at Prince Pizzeria.

“I have to say I go to a lot of banquets and this is my favorite banquet,” said Bettencourt, who has attended two of them as a player, six as an assistant coach and 11 as the head coach.

Sachems’ Head Coach Steve Cummings experienced his first Lions Club senior banquet in 2019 and also looks forward to what has become a great tradition that puts more focus on the rivalry between Saugus and Peabody. “You guys had a great year. Congratulations on a great year, and I’m looking forward to playing at your place next Thursday [Thanksgiving Day],” Cummings said during his speech.

Peabody, with a 9-1 record, will host Saugus at 10 a.m. The Sachems go into the game with a 5-4 record.

“This is the best year we’ve had in recent memory,” Cummings said.

“It’s going to be an absolute privilege to be on the battlefield one more time,” he said, referring to the Turkey Day clash.

Veteran Saugus Lions Club Member John Smolinsky said he’s attended about 35 of the special football banquets. “It’s always a special night,” said Smolinsky, who has been master of ceremonies for the last 21 annual events.

“This great event brings two teams together, year after year. We’ve had many good players, many good teams and many classic battles,” he said.

No matter who wins or loses tomorrow’s game, the Lions Clubs of Saugus and Peabody hoped to make the contest memorable by having the seniors of both teams break bread together in the name of sportsmanship while getting to enjoy a buffet meal of pizza and pasta served up with meatballs, sausages and chicken.

Based on the records of the two teams going into the game, Peabody would be favored heavily. But Peabody Coach Bettencourt said he’s not taking anything for granted despite the team’s great season. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, there are no records on Thanksgiving Day.”

“In my junior year, we were 5-4 and Saugus was similar. We won the game 14-13 in the mud,” the coach recalled.

“For me, the passion is still there. I’ve been going to games since I was six years old. I look forward to a very great game, a very competitive game,” he said.

“Just remember, this is the last time that some of us will play football for the rest of our lives,” he said.

When he got his chance to talk about the upcoming game, Cummings echoed Coach Bettencourt’s sentiments. “You can’t sign up for a men’s league when you get older and play football,” Cummings said.

“When it’s over, you are going to miss every bit of it,” he said.

Cummings said he has fond memories of his last High School Thanksgiving Day football game. Cummings was a tight end and inside linebacker on the Marshfield High School team in 1995 that won the state title in its division (3-B). Marshfield beat Duxbury, 40-20, in a game hosted by Duxbury. “We took the opening kickoff to the house [for a touchdown],” he said. Marshfield went on to beat North Attleboro in the state title game, 26-8.

Smolinsky said he still remembers his last Thanksgiving Day game when he played for Tewksbury High. “We played Wilmington in a mud bowl and it was a 0-0 tie,” Smolinsky recalled.

“It was 50 years ago and I still remember it,” he said.

Saugus School Superintendent Michael Hashem didn’t play High School football, but went to watch the games as most students did. “Take it all in. It’s going to happen quickly,” said Hashem, who has been an educator in his hometown for 32 years.

“You’ll remember this game for the rest of your lives,” he said.

Former New England Patriots star offensive lineman Peter Brock, this year’s guest speaker, urged the Peabody and Saugus seniors to “play every play like it’s the last play you’ll ever do.”

Brock, a native of Beaverton, Oregon, told the young players that he “lived a dream” that he conceived in childhood to be a professional football player – an accomplishment that was also achieved by three of his four brothers.

In his talk, Brock recalled how the Patriots as a “Wild Card” team won three road playoff games – including a 31-14 win over the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Championship game (Jan. 12, 1986). “We kicked the hell out of the Miami Dolphins,” Brock recalled, noting that the Patriots went into the game having lost its last 18 games at Miami.

“We held the ball for 42 minutes in a 60-minute game and we rushed for 256 yards that day,” he said.

Brock, who played for 13 years with Patriots, also entertained the Peabody and Saugus players with a story about how he actually gave 110 percent effort in a game. It was a Nov. 13, 1983, game in Foxboro against the Miami Dolphins. Brock had suffered a serious knee injury. But his teammate – and then-future Hall of Fame offensive guard John Hannah – kept asking him “Can you go one more play?” Hannah kept repeating the question, motivating Brock to overcome adversity.

“We played 76 plays from scrimmage, and I didn’t miss a snap,” Brock said.

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