One hundred years ago, in the autumn of 1921, the players of the Attleboro and North Attleborough High School football teams met on the gridiron for the first time and initiated a century-long friendly rivalry between our two communities.
For the next 100 years, the two teams battled for bragging rights, supported by their two communities that worked tirelessly through challenges such as a world war and harsh weather to ensure that the Attleboro vs. North Attleborough game remained an integral part of the Thanksgiving Day tradition. This storied rivalry is both a great source of pride for the communities and the envy of high school teams throughout the country.
Were it not for the current pandemic, the 2020 Thanksgiving Day game would have been celebrated as the 100th game in the great holiday tradition. However, rather than being denied an opportunity to participate in this storied rivalry, the members of the Class of 2021 and their teammates will have the chance to make history.
Like their brethren in 1921 who kicked off the first century of Attleboro vs. North Attleborough football, the Class of 2021 will usher in the second century of the rivalry by competing during the spring of their senior year. Therefore, in recognition of the value this rivalry possess beyond the gridiron, it is with great resolve and enthusiasm that the Attleboro High School Blue Bombardiers and the North Attleborough High School Red Rocketeers announce plans to schedule a two-game celebration of the century-old rivalry and the 100th Thanksgiving Day game, both in the same calendar year.
The first of the two games, The Century Game, will be played in April 2021 to commemorate “A Century of Football Rivalry: A.H.S. vs. N.A.H.S.” The second game, a celebration of the 100th Thanksgiving Day game, will be played in November 2021. Between now and the playing of the first game in April 2021, school administrators, athletic departments, football coaches and booster clubs will collaborate to ensure that this celebration is befitting the rich tradition that has characterized this rivalry since its inception 100 years ago.
It is the hope that the anticipation of these two games will generate significant enthusiasm and uplift the spirits of the communities that have supported the teams, marching bands, and cheerleaders as they emerge from the constraints of a year-long pandemic, and embark on a second century of football between these two schools.