Case football ends a 90-year Thanksgiving rivalry with Somerset. They have a new opponent.

The long-standing Thanksgiving Day high school football rivalry between Joseph Case and Somerset Berkley jump-started the holidays for decades. The two neighboring communities went head-to-head that morning on the fourth Thursday in November for bragging rights at the dinner table.

Now the 90-year tradition, which dated back to the 1930s, is officially over.

Cardinals athletic director and head football coach Anthony Palladino announced on Thursday that his team, which is in Division VII, will play against the Division VIII school Atlantis Charter/Connolly/Westport co-op football team instead of the Raiders, a Division III school.

Palladino, who said he has been looking for a newer opponent to play on Thanksgiving morning for over a month, said his choice to end the tradition was tough. But in the end, he made the move to give his student-athletes the best position to be successful both on and off the field.

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"I've always said since Day One, being the coach and the AD at Case, I will always do what I feel is in the best interest of my student-athletes," Palladino said. "This decision was not easy, breaking up a game that has been going on for a long time.

"I've gotten support from the principal, school superintendent, and members of the School Committee," he said. "The support from players and parents has been awesome. It reassured me that I am doing the right thing."

The Raiders dominated the recent Thanksgiving matchup with the Cardinals, 50-14. In nine years as head coach, Palladino has yet to win on Thanksgiving. Case's record over the last two decades has been 2-18.

Palladino said SBR athletic director Joe Francis has been patient and understanding about the situation.

An official statement sent via email Friday by Somerset Berkley Regional High School read, "Somerset Berkley Regional High School is admittedly disappointed that the tradition of the Thanksgiving game has been cancelled. It was not our decision, but we must now move on and find an opponent to play on Thanksgiving as, of course, the game is not only an important school, but also a community event. We are concerned about finding an opponent and, again, sad that the tradition has gone away, but, unfortunately, that is out of our hands.

"We are proud of our programming. We continue to strive for excellence in all of our programming and we must move forward. Our focus now is on our football program, our players, and moving forward."

A new Thanksgiving Day football tradition

For three years, Atlantis Charter's Chad Gormly has been looking for an opponent to play on Thanksgiving morning.

Gormly said the Tritons last played on the holiday in 2019. Atlantis Charter lost to Randolph, 41-0. COVID ended the matchup the following year.

"Three years [we were] without a Thanksgiving Day game," Gormly said. "Randolph was our first in 2017. They wiped the floors with us. It was embarrassing. They would show up with 50, 60 kids, and we have 20 showing up. We're getting bigger because of our co-op now."

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Gormly heard about Palladino looking for an opponent and emailed him about the opportunity.

"We jumped at that," he said. "Any opportunity to play on Thanksgiving. It's a tradition that our kids were missing. It is not only what the kids wanted, but the parents and the community want it as well. We've been searching for a while now, and this opportunity came up."

Atlantis Charter's Dean of Students and Tritons head football coach Kazeem Adediran said the news about a holiday opponent was uplifting.

"When [Chad] presented this to me, I said, 'Let's make this happen," Adediran said. "He had to do some research with the higher-ups in the school, and it's a no-brainer to us. I'm just so excited to reveal this to my players. This is something to look forward to because the season did end abruptly for us, especially with us on a high note."

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Adediran's team completed its best season ever at 5-4 since their inception into the league in 2017. He said he embraces the challenge of playing the Cardinals on Thanksgiving morning.

"This whole Bristol County area is so competitive," he said. "I know I do my research, making sure what neighboring schools are doing. So I know the tremendous job Anthony is doing over there with Case, so I know we have a tall task ahead of us.

"Putting a good product on the field where family, relatives and friends can come and support — that is what I'm really excited about. It's a great day. With two great ADs supporting it, backing it and administration backing it, I think this is going to add even more energy to both programs. Afterwards, we can share a turkey."

Adediran thanked the support of Bishop Connolly's AD Cesar Goncalves and Westport AD Jason Pacheco.

"I'm appreciative of the relationship we have with Bishop Connolly and Westport," he said. "They have been huge contributors to the program this year. Without that support, relationship and good equity that we've built, especially this year, it would not be the same."

One of the main concerns for both Palladino and Gormly when playing football is the safety of their student-athletes.

"Small school ADs have to look for fair, competitive opportunities for their kids and safe opportunities for them," Gormly said. "We have been advocating what is in the best interest of the student and safety of the student right from the beginning. That is why this matchup will be fair for both teams."

And so there's a new rivalry in the area.

Both Case and Atlantis Charter are ready to embrace a new beginning.

Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette sports editor Steven Sanchez can be reached at ssanchez@heraldnews.com. You can follow him on Twitter @Chezsports. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Case, Somerset Berkley end 90-year Thanksgiving football tradition