The names to know heading into the Quincy vs. North Quincy Thanksgiving football game

QUINCY – Thanksgiving Day is mainly a time for family, friends, food ... and football.

And for the city rivalry between Quincy High and North Quincy High, the Thanksgiving Day showdown (10 a.m. at Veterans Stadium) means bragging rights for the next year for whoever wins.

“This time of year, you're either wearing blue and white (Quincy) or red and black (NQ),” said Quincy head coach Kevin Carey.

With both the Raiders and the Presidents out of the playoffs, it’s not only the last game of the season but the biggest one as well.

More:A quiet fire inside Gabe Rodrigues is driving the Quincy High football team to a 2-0 start

“Obviously, it doesn’t get better than this,” said Carey. “Obviously, everyone has goals to go beyond Thanksgiving. It’s tough, after this weekend there’s only 16 teams playing after Thanksgiving for a state championship.”

Quincy (5-4) had a number of ups and downs as a 3-0 start gave way to a three-game losing streak. Still, the Presidents have won two of their last three and will be looking for a big game from junior running back Gabe Rodrigues, who went over the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season in a 35-20 win over Framingham in his last time out.

“He’s just a workhorse," Carey said. "He does a lot on both sides of the football, so I’m sure (North Quincy) is going to focus on him.”

For Rodrigues, he wants a big game to send his season off the right way.

“It’s probably the highlight of the season,” Rodrigues said of the Thanksgiving rivalry, which dates to 1933. “Everyone comes around (to watch). I’m going to miss my seniors.”

The offense doesn’t stop there for Quincy, as the Presidents have several quality receivers and a senior-laden offensive line that's playing with a lot of confidence.

“Jacey Ham has had a great season at wide receiver,” said Carey. "Ruben Charles as well on the other side. So we’ve had a double threat there.”

Ham, a senior captain, wants to create a legacy from this Thanksgiving game.

“Biggest game of the year, I’m trying to pop off,” said Ham. “For the fans and the city of Quincy, for the reputation, I want to be known forever.”

Quincy senior captain Stephen Gallant also returns kickoffs and can be a huge impact in terms of field position.

“Stephen Gallant has had a good year for us in the special teams, setting us up, taking returns to the 35-40-yard line," Carey said. "A couple of times he’s broken it."

Quincy leads the all-time holiday series, 48-35-5, or 48-36-5, if you count the "2020 Thanksgiving game" that actually was played in the spring of 2021 due to the pandemic. For motivational purposes, Quincy is counting that one, which North Quincy won, 21-0. The Raiders won again last year, this time on Thanksgiving, 15-12.

“Our school needs this. We lost two years in a row,” said Quincy senior captain Luke Murphy. “It’s special to go out with a win. Losing it would suck, but I’m confident.”

Last year's game came down to the wire as North Quincy dug out of a 12-0 second-half hole. Nate Caldwell caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Cooper Hansen on fourth down with 1:22 left for the go-ahead score. Caldwell then ran in the 2-point conversion, capping a 96-yard game-winning drive.

The Raiders (3-6) are hoping for another big game from Caldwell.

“Nate, obviously,” NQ senior Brian Nguyen said when asked about potential Raiders heroes this year. “Caught a game-winning touchdown last year. I know (Quincy) is game-planning for him. He’s a beast.”

“Nate Caldwell is an outstanding player,” NQ coach Ryan Craig agreed. “MVP-caliber player. He made the biggest catch of the game in last year’s Thanksgiving game. We’re looking for the same thing.”

As for Caldwell, who’s a senior, he’s just having fun playing with his teammates and finishing out his high school football career.

“It hasn’t gone as well as I’d like, but it’s been a fun season,” said Caldwell. “Had a pretty fun time here on the North Quincy Raiders. Still going.”

Caldwell also believes another wideout can make a difference on Thursday.

“I’m thinking Will Conley can have a big game,” said Caldwell. “He didn’t start in the beginning of the season but he's had a bigger role as the season moved forward.”

North Quincy also has two different quarterbacks who could cause problems for Quincy.

“We have a quarterback situation where we have Charlie Baker, our starting quarterback, he’s a junior,” said Craig. “(He) played very well for us, but got injured and bounced back. He’s athletic, smart, with a strong arm. We also have (sophomore) Mike Galligan, who’s our backup quarterback. We have a 1-2 punch.”

But none of those players would be able to score without the guys in the trenches ‒ Dylan Clifford, Matt Whooley, Tom Cail, Robert Walinjom, Grant Murphy and Jefferson Laurette, all seniors.

“The whole (offensive) line, I’m giving them all a shout-out,” said Caldwell. “Without them, nothing gets through and we’re not running anything. So, big shout-out to them. Hopefully, they'll be able to do their job.”

“Dylan Clifford plays offensive tackle and defensive end,” said Craig. "He’s an experienced player, our best offensive and defensive lineman. He’s a true leader on our team.”

Murphy, who plays tight end and defensive end, also got high praise from his head coach.

“He’s one of our captains,” said Craig. “Grant's been playing varsity for us for three years. He’s a guy that’s been leading by example. Tremendous upside on the offensive side.”

If North Quincy wants to keep its holiday win streak going, the Raiders will have to get past a Quincy team that feels it's playing some of its best ball of the season. Since that three-game slide – against playoff-bound Hanover, Plymouth South and Scituate – the Presidents have responded with wins over Pembroke and Framingham sandwiched around a narrow 23-20 loss to Needham.

“Honestly, teamwork really does make the dream work,” said Quincy senior quarterback Andrew Novak. “In past years when we would lose, we would break up, point fingers, and blame each other. It sucked, honestly. This year we stuck together (in the losing streak), came back and won tough games people thought we wouldn’t win.”

“This is kind of our Super Bowl,” Carey said of Thanksgiving. “These kids all know each other. These guys play on the same club teams together (in different sports). It’s really a great tradition.”

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Key players to watch in Quincy-North Quincy Thanksgiving football game