Wayland High School football coach Scott Parseghian knows what it feels like to play in the annual Thanksgiving Day football game as a senior. He suited up on the fourth Thursday of November more than 40 years ago.
He and his classmates lost to Weston in the 1982 edition. Parseghian remembers it vividly; that is why he stresses it to his eight seniors not to take the game lightly.
“I still remember the game like it was yesterday and, unfortunately, we lost so that is how I went out as a Wayland High football player,” he explained. “I tell my senior players all the time I don’t want them to feel that, so pour everything you have into this one last football game where you get to wear the black and orange.”
The Warriors will host rival Weston at 10 a.m. for the annual contest, which started in 1934. Wayland shut out the Wildcats, 42-0, last year.
For senior Jaxon Margolis, an offensive lineman who has played football since the third grade, he realizes this may be the final time he dons the pads for any team. It is something that is in his blood — his dad was the pro shop manager for the New England Patriots when he was growing up – and he isn’t taking the game lightly, especially with the Warriors in the midst of a difficult 2-7 campaign.
“It is definitely sad that [on Thanksgiving] it will be my last game,” he said. “I’ve played so long that it is something that I’ve kept close to me. Football has been my life. I’m just glad that I have been able to do it with my teammates. I wouldn’t change this team for anything.”
Fellow offensive lineman and senior Ryan Xie echoes his teammate’s feelings.
“It’s definitely heartbreaking to think of playing in my last game — I have put a lot of work into football over the years and it is finally coming to an end,” said Xie. “It’s like a chapter is closing. There have been a lot of ups and downs, not just this season but all four years. I’m happy with the way things have gone, though.”
The Thanksgiving game is also a chance for the seniors — and the entire team, for that matter — to make up for a somewhat disappointing season. Following last year’s highly successful run that included a first-round playoff victory and the Dual County League Foley Division crown, a win over the favored Wildcats could help erase any negative memories.
”Weston is a rival so we’re taking the game as a very serious matter,” Xie added. “We are going to do whatever we can to win this game. It’s a crucial game to determine our legacy at Wayland High School.”
Margolis said it is going to be surreal when he walks off the field for the final time.
”Last year I didn’t play a lot because we had a lot of seniors. So after the game I knew I had the next year,” Margolis said. “I don’t have that this time so this game means a lot more to me.”
For the coaching staff — many of whom played at Wayland — the game is also a chance to build toward next year.
“A win on Thanksgiving would mean everything for this team,” Parseghian said. “Although we’re in the same league, we play in two different conferences where Weston won their conference and we’re at the bottom of ours. So beating a team that on paper is better than you would be a great way to end your season and begin to build for next year.”
The other seniors on the Warriors are captains Dylan Engelhardt and Alex Evangelista, Jack Doyle, John Myles, Kordell Shouder, and Cole Zachery.
