Over the next several days, photographer Darryl Rule of J&D Photography will be spending time at his alma mater to give fans a behind the scenes look at the Hatboro-Horsham football team during th
e week leading up to the Hatters annual Thanksgiving Day game against Upper Moreland on Thursday. Check back every day for Darryl’s submissions.
If you ask most people what they think of when they hear the word “Thanksgiving,” you will
most likely hear “Turkey,” “Family,” or “Pumpkin Pie.” But if you ask a football player from Hatboro-Horsham, you will probably hear “The game against Upper Moreland.”
By Darryl Rule
This year will be the 79th meeting between the neighborhood rivals with the first game being played back in 1935. In the late 90’s and early 2000’s, the series was decidedly one sided in Hatboro-Horsham’s favor, but in the past 10 years, this series has gone back to being one of the best Thanksgiving rivalry games
in the Philadelphia area with the two teams alternating wins and creating countless memories for the fans and alumni that pack the stands.
My name is Darryl Rule. I am a 1996 graduate of Hatboro-Horsham, and on most Football Friday nights, you’ll see me on the sidelines photographing various local teams. I moved to Horsham in 1987, and that first year, my dad took my sister and me over to Alden Field at the old Hatboro-Horsham HS (now Keith Valley MS), and we saw our first Thanksgiving Day game. I was hooked.
The names in the game back then were Spineo, Horstman, and Peacock. Today, 26 years later, some of those names still roam the sidelines as coaches, and others still come back with their now high school age kids to pass on the tradition to them. And while the names in Thursday’s game have changed, the importance of this game to the players is still the same. No matter your record, if you can beat your rival to end the season (especially for the seniors), you go out on a high note.
This week, I will be doing a behind the scenes look at the Hatboro-Horsham Football team as they prepare for their game against Upper Moreland. You will get a look at the players going about their daily routine in class, lunch, and practice. We will capture some of the school spirit events that take place to get the students ready for the big game. And, of course, we will end with the game Thursday (10:00 a.m. at Hatters Stadium). You will see the players as they prepare for the game, get taped by the trainer, a look inside the locker room as the get ready to take the field, and, of course, all the game action you have come to know and love from Suburbanonesports.com.
So please, stop back each day for our updates. And get a feel for what one of the longest running Thanksgiving Day rivalry games is all about.
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