Great Thanksgiving Rivalry Continues Thursday

“Thanksgiving’s always a great rivalry between Westborough and Algonquin,” Algonquin varsity football head coach Justin McKay says. 

Thursday, at 10:15 a.m., the teams renew that rivalry, this year at Algonquin. Tickets are $10.

“I think it’s evenly matched,” Rangers head coach Mark Ellis says. 

“They’re a good team. We’ve seen them on film in a few games. Defensively, we’re going to struggle. Offensively, I think we can move the ball. I think the same for them.”

Both teams are 2-8 this season. 

Algonquin won last year’s Thanksgiving Day game, 17-16, at Westborough, “the first time in five years that Algonquin had beaten Westborough,” McKay says.

“It’s always going to be a tough challenge to play Westborough,” he says. 

“I think Coach Ellis and his staff do a fantastic job. I think Mark Ellis is one of the best coaches in Central Massachusetts. I think for our program, we want to be on a level that Westborough’s on in terms of consistently being competitive and being on top of this football game. Westborough has dominated this football game for years, and in terms of Algonquin, we’re just trying to make it so that we can not only be competitive but even that stretch out a little bit. We’ve worked very, very hard at it.”

Westborough is led by senior tri-captains quarterback Dan Orlando, linebacker Kevin White and wide receiver/defensive back Kevin Sanders.

 “Hopefully, we’re starting to get a little healthier. We’ve got a lot of guys banged up from the last game. With the great win, they’re still banged up. North Middlesex is a good team. I don’t know if we’ll get anyone back from that game,” Ellis says.

Ellis is pleased with his team’s performance this season, given its tough schedule.

“I thought the guys handled it very well this year. It’s not easy game in and game out,” he says. 

“You’ve got to play your best. When you don’t, it hurts. But I thought most games we did play our best. We made a couple of mistakes that cost us. We were in all games, and that’s different from a year ago.”

Ellis praised Algonquin’s roster.

“They have some good athletes over there. They have a quarterback who can throw. They’ve gone to more of a passing attack. Last year, I don’t even know if they threw a pass,” he says.

McKay says that for the Tomahawks, “the season’s been good. The season’s been competitive. We’ve had opportunities game in and game out to get Ws. We’ve been in every single game we’ve played.” 

Algonquin’s captains are quarterback Tim Keville, inside linebacker-tight end Michael Baker and running back/linebacker Jake Turner.

McKay says that “Tim’s leadership skills, first and foremost, make him a great quarterback.” 

“He’s a dual threat in the run and the pass. I think when teams try to take something away from Tim, he’s able to find a way to take advantage of something else,” McKay says.

Baker is a “really tough kid. Given us everything we’ve asked,” and plays both ways, the coach says.

And Turner  has been “a kid where whatever you’ve asked Jake to do, Jake has done it.”