Scituate and Hingham renew rivalry at Fenway Park

The 24th annual Thanksgiving football classic between the Hingham Harbormen and the Scituate Sailors will have a bit of a twist this year.
 
The game will be played Wednesday night (7:45 p.m.) at Fenway Park as part of the Gridiron Series, which has had a number of college and high school teams participate in over the years.
 
High School football returned to Fenway Park in 2015, after an 80-year absence. Hingham & Scituate will be just two of 12 high schools to play at Fenway since 1935.
 
"It's definitely a different type of atmosphere, not playing on Thanksgiving day is a lot different," Scituate head coach Herb Devine said."The kids are excited, since the playoffs ended last week this is all we've been focused on."
 
Hingham leads the Thanksgiving series 13-10, although recently Scituate has found success, winning the last three games, including last season's 48-24 victory at Hingham High School.
 
"It's not a rivalry until we win, and since I've been here we have yet to do so," Hingham head coach Chris Arouca said. "We have a lot of kids who've had great experience in this game. It's awesome to play at a place like Fenway that has so much history and has hosted so many great events, including the World Series."
 
The Sailors (8-2) have had a phenomenal 2017 campaign, winning the Patriot League (Fisher Division). Scituate also made a lot of noise in the Div. 5 South Sectional playoffs, winning in its first two rounds, including the Quarterfinals (28-14 win over Holliston) and an upset in the Semifinals with a 38-21 victory over No. 2 seed Medfield.
 
"We've played with our backs against the wall all season, the last six weeks have been all 'must-win' type of games." Devine said.
 
Scituate lost in the Div. 5 South Sectional final to No. 1 seed Dennis-Yarmouth 45-33. Dennis-Yarmouth advanced to the Div. 5 state finals at Gillette Stadium after a 41-3 victory over Watertown Saturday night, so the Sailors have nothing to hang their heads over.
 
"Overall, it was a great season winning a division title and racking up a couple of playoffs wins were huge. It's been a fun year." Devine added.
 
Headlining this powerful Scituate offense has been wide receiver Abel Lopes, he ranks in the top five in the state in touchdown receptions (14) and has been as electrifying after the catch as any wide-out has been in the state of Massachusetts. Other notable Sailors who've made a big impact this season has been running back Peyton Crosby and middle linebacker Jason Dwight.
 
"Abel (Lopes) has been big for us all season, in the top five in the state in touchdown receptions," Devine said. "He's a dynamic player. Peyton (Crosby) has been great for us in the backfield, continuing drives and just an overall solid back. Jason (Dwight) has been our guy at the middle linebacker spot. He's led the defense very well this year and we've definitely taken notice."
 
The Harbormen (7-3) have also had a phenomenal season, going toe-to-toe with division rival Duxbury for the rights of the Patriot League (Keenan Division), but fell short 14-13 early on in the year.
 
"We've had a great season, a playoff win and were very competitive in our division this year,
 Arounca said. "It's not just one player, we learned to win as a team and it's been a lot of fun."
 
Hingham qualified for the MIAA Div. 3 South Sectional playoffs, they opened with a 25-0 win over Bishop Feehan. The Harbormen traveled to Duxbury in a rematch of the division title game in the Semifinals. Unfortunately things didn't work out as they hoped, with a 38-13 loss ending their quest for a title.
 
"This senior class was sophomores when I began coaching here," Arouca noted. "They have a strong work ethic and have shown tremendous leadership this season."
 
The Harbormen offense has been inconsistent at times this season. Quarterback Jack Johnson has had success this fall connecting with receivers Tim O'Brien and Cole Finney. Ryan Cahoon, Will Thomas, Mike Hannon, and Jailen Pierre are likely to factor into their prolific rushing attack.
 
"Scituate's a really good team, one of the best offenses we'll see this year," Arouca added. "We haven't had good luck in recent years in this game, hopefully all that can change Wednesday night."
 
Tickets can still be purchased at redsox.com/gridironseries, starting at $20 with 25% of every ticket sold given back to participating schools.

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