Natick, Framingham play for 119th time on Thanksgiving, this time at Bowditch Field
FRAMINGHAM – Nine young men stood at the 50-yard line at an otherwise deserted Bowditch Field. Five sported Navy blue, the others in fire engine red.
The waist-high prize sat in the middle.
The annual photo shoot ended 10 minutes prior, but the captains from Framingham and Natick lingered, hands in their pockets to ward off the Tuesday afternoon chill. The congeniality will end Thursday morning when the schools meet for the coin toss to kick off the rivalry’s 119th meeting.
Natick’s domination in the series did not begin until 1911, when a 16-0 victory – the second of six consecutive shoutouts – gave the school a 3-2 lead. Yes, Framingham, in addition to its win five years ago at Fenway Park – has bragging rights in another key area: the Flyers won the first matchup, 34-0 in 1904.
But when the players left the field Tuesday, it was Natick’s Teddy Ferrucci who toted the Elks Trophy back to the parking lot for the drive home. The prize usually ends up to the east of Speen Street, with the Redhawks winning 17 of the 23 clashes since the year 2000.
Ferrucci plans to keep it that way.
“It would be awesome to keep the trophy here one more year,” he said.
But Framingham is not a pushover this fall. The Flyers have five victories, their most since 2019; it is unlikely Thursday’s final score will resemble last year’s 49-13 outcome.
“It’s been the dream since youth (football),” Framingham’s Ben Lincoln said. “We’re going to come collect the trophy.”
Framingham’s prior win in the series happened at Fenway in 2018, meaning the current seniors weren’t in high school the last time the Flyers triumphed.
“We’re just trying to get that trophy back,” said Caleb Whitney.
The last time the Flyers defeated Natick at Bowditch dates back to 2010, when a 28-14 decision concluded a 6-5 season. The Flyers are 4-1 at home this season, their only loss to Weymouth, which reached the Division 1 Elite Eight.
Framingham is coming off a 49-22 win over Durfee behind Lincoln's 191 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Matheus Silva (7 of 11, 94 yards passing; 6 rushes, 76 yards) threw a pair of touchdown passes, one each to Yeandiel Cora and Whitney, and ran for two himself.
Andrew Lima had five tackles and a sack while Vinicius Silva had an interception and Trevor Haywood blocked a Durfee punt.
Natick (6-4) began the season 1-2 but ran off three consecutive wins and defeated both Walpole and Milton, which will meet on Nov. 30 at Gillette Stadium in the Division 3 Super Bowl. The Redhawks lost to Methuen in the Div. 1 playoffs, but rebounded with a 42-20 win over Franklin on Nov. 10 as captains Arnold Kawere and Ferrucci each scored a pair of touchdowns.
A win on Thanksgiving not only means the Redhawks end the season on a winning streak but continue another one for another year.
“Excited to bring it back to our trophy case for another year,” said Natick’s Jared Marcus.
“The trophy’s staying in Natick,” added teammate Jack Cuddy. “Especially with the history of this game, it would be awesome to have for another year.”
But a cordial rebuttal followed when the Flyers were asked about their final high school football game.
“Playing through injury and pain,” said Angel Colon. “It’s going to be real nice to get this trophy.”
“It’s kind of all you look forward to all season: just this game,” said Henry Goldberg. “We’re going to bring ‘er home this year.”
“Last year to get it,” concluded Nick Duplessis.
Tim Dumas is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at tdumas@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimDumas.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Natick, Framingham vie for Elks Trophy on Thanksgiving for 119th time
