The seventh installment of Thanksgiving-Day football between South Hadley and Holyoke has arrived.

The Tigers and Purple Knights will square off in their own ‘Battle of the Bridge’ on Turkey Day at South Hadley’s Turf Field at 10 a.m.

South Hadley has put together a 5-1 record during the holiday showdown series. Last year, Owen Dawson led the Tigers to a 20-6 victory in a game that featured a scoreless first half. The Purple Knights’ only win came during the 2021 season, by a score of 36-30.

“It's a big thing,” South Hadley head coach Brian Couture said. “Sadly, we didn't make playoffs this year so this is what they had to look forward for in the month of November, preparing to play Holyoke. They've been putting in the time. Knowing we have Holyoke, we have a week and a half to look at film instead of three days. These guys have all been on film and they're like ‘oh coach I saw this, I saw this,’ so they're just as invested as we are as coaches."

The Tigers will enter Thursday’s battle with a 6-4 record while also boasting a three-game winning streak. South Hadley most recently beat Pathfinder, 27-9, on Nov. 15. Senior Julius Hebenth was huge for the Tigers, rushing for two touchdowns.

"Honestly, it's probably the biggest game we'll ever play, no matter what the schedule lines up to be, this will always be the biggest game that everyone looks forward to," Hebenth said.

Holyoke hasn’t had quite as much success during the regular season as it sports a 3-7 record, with just one win in its last five games. The Purple Knights took down Putnam, 22-20, Nov. 7 in their last victory.

Junior Devin Velez showcased Holyoke’s capable air attack, throwing for three touchdowns and 162 yards versus Putnam. Senior Reinaldo Aldino was the beneficiary of a bulk of those throws, hauling in 93 receiving yards.

However, the Tigers know better than to take their neighboring foes lightly.

"It's gonna be a hard one, we know that. They always play us tough,” South Hadley senior Nehemiah Marrin said. “This probably might be the hardest game of the season and it just depends all about how we want to go out, 3-1 as a senior or go out 2-2 for Thanksgiving, so we'll see."

Thursday’s forecast calls for rain, wind and cold temperatures, and Couture feels that could force the Purple Knights to alter their game plan.

"It's gonna be an interesting day because if the weather stays the way it's supposed to, they may have to run the ball more, because it might be real cold and heavy rain and some heavy winds,” Couture said. “A normal Holyoke team, they're gonna throw the ball at us and try and attack our outsides so hopefully we're looking at a lot of run and not a lot of passing. We'll see what happens Thursday morning."

"Lot of screens, lot of passes, but obviously it might rain so that's gonna obviously gonna play a big factor in their game,” Hebenth added. “They're a spread team so they're looking to pass a lot so if we can shut that down and keep it to the run-game we'll be good."

The Tigers welcome back senior Jayden McMains to the lineup, who missed a handful of games with an injury. McMains is South Hadley’s starting tackle and defensive tackle and is thrilled to be back in the fold for the most important matchup of the season.

"It feels great,” McMains said. “I've been pushing myself to get back because I miss playing. It's hard to watch us play on the sideline because I can't do anything to help. 

"It means a lot to me and everyone else because they all wanted me back because of how big the game is and how much it means to us," McMains said.

South Hadley previously played Chicopee Comp in its Thanksgiving game, but switched to Holyoke in 2018. Couture thinks the annual game with the Purple Knights brings more of a rivalry feel because of the close proximity of the two towns.

"It's surprising. South Hadley, we're one town over from Holyoke,” Couture said. “There's a lot of Holyoke people that migrated into South Hadley or who have kids that go here and it's conflicting. One of my coach’s dads is from Holyoke and a couple years ago we did the Battle of the Bridge T-shirts, we did one in black for South Hadley and one in purple and he was gonna buy a purple one and my coach wouldn't let him."

Winning the last game of the season is always a motivating factor, but for the Tigers’ seniors, Thursday’s bout could be the end of their football careers. With that in mind, South Hadley is determined to not let the unpredictability sway them from achieving their final goal.

"We can't get down on ourselves, we have to keep rolling,” Hebenth said. “Plays are gonna happen, big plays are gonna happen for both teams, it's all part of the game, we got to keep rolling with the punches."

Couture is also looking to his seniors specifically, to keep the ‘Battle of the Bridge’ trophy in Tigers territory for a third consecutive year.

"Jayden McMains of course, he missed the last couple of weeks and hopefully he can finish like he did against Chicopee High, probably the best game he's ever had,” Couture said. “Julius Hebenth is running the ball phenomenally.

“They're all excited,” Couture said. “We got a couple guys looking at college, they understand that this is it, this is the last football game they may ever play... so it means a lot to them."