Winnacunnet football to play Lowell on Thanksgiving after hazing incident threatens game

HAMPTON — Ryan Francoeur, head coach of the Winnacunnet High School football team, collected all equipment from his players on Tuesday, Nov. 8, two days after the Warriors defeated Manchester Central, 20-14, at Gill Stadium. The season was supposed to be over.

Twelve days later, on Sunday morning, Francoeur, was back in the Winnacunnet gymnasium. He was sifting through bags and boxes and handing helmets, shoulder pads, game jerseys and practice jerseys back to his players.

Unexpectedly, the Winnacunnet football season is not over.

Lowell (Massachusetts) High School was looking for an opponent to fill the void when its annual Thanksgiving Day game against Haverhill was canceled last Wednesday. Winnacunnet, after being contacted by Lowell athletic director Dave Lezenski on Friday morning, getting enough student-athletes to participate and gaining approval by from the NHIAA, agreed to step in and play.

“(Thanksgiving football) is a big deal to Lowell High School,” said Francoeur, a Somersworth High School graduate who played Thanksgiving Day games against Dover during his high school days. “Yes, it feels good that our kids get to play again, but it really feels good to help a community that has this tradition they love, and not have it go away from no fault of their own. Yes, it’s an opportunity for us, but it feels like we are giving back on a holiday, and I am really excited for the kids to be a part of that.”

According to a report in the Boston Globe, Haverhill school administrators forfeited the Thanksgiving Day game against Lowell after a video emerged that allegedly showed members of the Haverhill High School football team hazing a teenage boy, district officials said.

Lowell, which has 4-7 record, will host Winnacunnet at 10 a.m. Thursday at Cawley Memorial Stadium.

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“A Thanksgiving game would be a great opportunity if our kids wanted to play,” Winnacunnet athletic director Aaron Abood said. “The regular season didn’t go the way any one of us would've hoped. They missed out on the playoffs, and providing this opportunity is something that will be a great time for them, and hopefully, something they remember for the rest of their lives.

“For most of these seniors, it’s potentially their last football game,” Abood said. “To be able to have their last football game on Thanksgiving in a stadium in Lowell with their families is a great opportunity. Football and Thanksgiving go together, I think it’s pretty cool they get to do this.”

Lowell fans show appreciation on social media

A post on the Lowell Public Schools' Facebook page on Saturday stated Lowell’s game was back on with a new opponent.

The word quickly spread with many commenters giving thanks and gratitude to Winnacunnet and to all those who made it happen.

One comment read, “I'm amazed another school was able to play on short notice, I thought it would be impossible to find a team with families having Thanksgiving plans, nice of them to shift their day to come down here to play.”

Some other comments read …

• "Kudos for Winnacunnent High for agreeing to play on short notice."

• "I am very happy that the Thanksgiving Day game is saved! Haverhill's bad behavior caused the end of their season and I am glad that it didn't cause the end of Lowell's season too."

• "That’s wonderful. So happy for these kids."

• "I hope Winnacunnet receives a large welcome when they arrive. It would be great if they received as much of a cheer as the Raiders.’

• "That's wonderful news. So happy they can play."

• "Make this the new Turkey Day game for both teams. A new tradition between two great programs."

How Thanksgiving game opportunity happened for Winnacunnet

Winnnacunent playing on Thanksgiving became a possibility after Francoeur received a text from a friend's father, a diehard football fan, Thursday night.

“He said that Lowell lost its game and how it would be fun if we could play them on Thanksgiving,” Francoeur said. “I told him we had already turned in our equipment, and I wasn’t sure if it would be approved. I thought (playing) would be pretty unlikely."

Francoeur received a similar text on Friday morning shortly after he arrived at school. This text came from a neighbor of Francoeur who has a connection with Lesenksi, asking Francoeur if he thought his team would be interested in playing.

“I said it would be a long shot, but that I’d reach out to my AD and ask what he thought the NHIAA would say,” Francoeur said.

Abood got in touch with NHIAA Executive Director Jeff Collins, who gave his OK for Winnacunnet to play, and then Abood and Lezensk spoke on the phone.

“(Lezenski) said he would be forever grateful if we would send our team down there,” Abood said. “Coach Francoeur texted me Friday afternoon and said he had plenty of people, so I let their AD know it looked like we could play.”

Lezenski told Barry Scanlon of The Lowell Sun that it was a “good feeling” an opponent could be found on such short notice.

“It’s certainly a relief,” Lezenski said in the Sun's report. “You’re giving the kids the opportunity to go out like they should go out, those nine seniors, as well as the cheerleading seniors. It means a lot to them.”

Winnacunnet, which went 2-7 in the NHIAA Division I regular season, then beat Manchester Central the following week. All teams that did not qualify for the tournament played one extra game.

Winnacunnet players 'fired up' for Thanksgiving game

Winnacunnet will be missing just three starters on Thanksgiving due to previously made travel plans with their families. In total, Francoeur said he will have at least 25 players suited up Thursday.

“I was fired up when I heard I was going to be able to play another high school game with my brothers and being able to bring our New Hampshire Division I talent to a Massachusetts Division I team to see how we will compete,” said senior captain Frankie Brown.

Francoeur wasn’t surprised that the overwhelming number of kids were up to playing another game after not practicing for the past two weeks.

“Not at all, I knew these kids would want to play football,” Francoeur said. “I reached out to the seniors Friday morning and within 5 minutes they were in, and it just rolled from there.”

The Warriors will have three days of practice leading up to the Thanksgiving game.

“I think people are excited to have a Thanksgiving Day football game,” Abood said. “Maybe if this goes well, Thanksgiving football can come back to the area.”

“I would love for this to continue,” Francoeur added. “If it were up to me, I definitely would be up for that.”

Editor's note: Seacoast Media Group sports editor Jay Pinsonnault has a son on the Winnacunnet football team.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Winnacunnet football steps in to play Lowell on Thanksgiving