Published November 16, 2018

By JENNIFER GENTILE

MELROSE—It’s that time of year again.

The 59th Melrose-Wakefield Thanksgiving Classic takes place next Thursday, Nov. 22 at Landrigan Field in Wakefield. The meeting is the 108th clash between a rivalry that dates back to 1901.

Melrose, the reigning 2017 Super Bowl Champs, will arrive in Wakefield facing a Warrior team who’d like to take them down a notch. 

The Red Raiders have a nice thing going—they’ve won seven straight contests against the Warriors between playoff games and every single Thanksgiving game since 2011. That’s a winning streak they’d determined to keep. 

This year, Wakefield finished 3-8 during the season and failed to qualify for playoffs, but they’ve thrown some surprise punches since early September. That includes convincing wins over competitive league rivals Watertown and Wilmington. In terms of competition, it could be just a matter of which Warrior team shows up.

2018 Melrose captains Kevin Peete (left) & Dylan Robertson (right) with Coach Tim Morris. (Terry Bleiler photo)

But that sentiment can also be echoed for Melrose, who saw their share of lopsided defeats over this season. But in their last two outings, the Red Raiders have steered the ship back with quality victories over historically tough teams, North Reading and Belmont.

“Wakefield has some good skilled kids and are big up front,” says Melrose coach Tim Morris. “They have a new offense and defense and play young kids who will turn the program around, I’m sure.”

On the Melrose side, senior captain Kevin Peete remains Melrose’s sharpest weapon. The speedy running back will no doubt have a target on his back on Thursday. But Melrose’s underclassmen have also come into their own, so expect Melrose to use players like Brendan Fennell, Billy Pesce, Andy Calvert and Sean Herbert to generate offense.

Wakefield doesn’t need any motivation to win the Thanksgiving trophy back, and they will rely on their standout freshman running back Aidan Sweeney, who scored four touchdowns against Boston Latin last week in Wakefield’s 48-29 victory. Equally as threatening is running back Danny Marinacciano, who has battled injuries all season but is 2-0 in games he’s a part of. The Warriors are battling a slew of injuries that has made a complete roster a challenge for first-year coach John Rafferty. This will be Rafferty’s first shot at Melrose, a team he served as assistant coach to in the 1990’s.

“John and I coached together and then he was my defensive coordinator. He’s a friend and good coach,” says Morris. “They’ve struggled a bit, but I’m confident he’ll turn the team around. But we’re prepared to work hard too and pick up another win.”

The 59th Annual Thanksgiving Classic takes place at Landrigan Field in Wakefield at 10:15 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day.