By MATT METCALF

Sports Editor

There aren’t many things better than tradition in sports.

Locally, maybe the best tradition in high school sports is Thanksgiving Day football games.

The Hendricken and Toll Gate gridiron squads have met on Thanksgiving in each of the last 43 years, and this year won’t be any different.

Today at 10 a.m., the Hawks will travel to Toll Gate to take on their annual Turkey Day opponent.

Although the two teams take drastically different paths to get to where they are by Thanksgiving, the tradition hasn’t changed.

Hendricken, which will compete for a sixth straight Division I championship next Saturday when it takes on La Salle, is undefeated this season while playing the best teams in the state at 9-0.

Toll Gate is coming off of its best season since 2010, finishing third in Division III with a 3-5 record, while also adding a pair of non-league wins to post a .500 record for the fall.

The Titans certainly haven’t seen a team as talented as Hendricken this season, but luckily for them, they most likely won’t see many Hawks’ starters.

With Hendricken’s upcoming title game looming, I doubt it will risk its starters getting hurt in a non-league game.

Last year, Toll Gate faced several Hendricken junior varsity players and players on varsity that don’t see a lot of time, and was able to keep the game close.

Hendricken emerged victorious for the 23rd consecutive year in the annual matchup, but the Titans put up a good fight, getting in the end zone twice before ultimately losing 21-12. Hendricken’s current starting quarterback, Chris Hindle, came up from junior varsity to lead the Hawks to that win last November.

Hendricken leads the all-time series 35-8, with Toll Gate’s last win coming via a 17-12 battle in 1991.

The Titans know that they’re the underdog, but they’re going to do everything in their power to break that 23-year drought.

“We’re not just gonna let them come in here and let them win,” Toll Gate head coach Jim Stringfellow said. “We’re gonna do our regular thing. Go out, scout on Friday, watch them, get film, watch film and treat it like every other game.”

On the flip side, the Hawks are taking the matchup with the Titans like every other game, and they expect to win.

They certainly aren’t going to take Toll Gate lightly.

“Coach Stringfellow’s done a nice job with that program over the past few years,” Hendricken head coach Keith Croft said after his team’s semifinal win over South Kingstown last Friday. “They’ve had a pretty good year, so I told these guys we start preparing for Toll Gate tomorrow [last Saturday].”

If Toll Gate wants to have a shot, it will need a strong game out of its bevy of running backs, something that has been a strength for the team throughout the season.

The Titans will look to senior Alex Mowry and sophomore Sean Devlin to shoulder the bulk of the carries. Sophomore signal caller Anthony Vann will also need to elevate his game and throw accurately to keep the Titans close.

As previously mentioned, I don’t know how much Hendricken’s starters will play, if at all, but they’ve certainly been impressive this season.

In his first season as the varsity starter, Hindle has been as good as advertised under center. The junior has thrown for 15 touchdowns to just four interceptions, while also adding four touchdowns on the ground.

Jake Derderian leads the Hawks in rushing touchdowns with 10, and juniors Kwity Paye and Matt DiTondo have added eight and five, respectively.

Senior Trevor Lawton leads Hendricken in receptions (15), receiving yards (307) and receiving touchdowns (five). Dante Baldelli has posted four receiving touchdowns, while Billy Mueller has hauled in four of his own.

The Hawks have arguably the best defense in the state, too. Shane Olson has led the way with a team-high 83 tackles, and Kwity Paye has been a force rushing the passer all season, posting three and a half sacks.

Jimmie Sauro and Sam Hill have also been forces up front on the defense.

In the secondary, Andrew Hopgood has a team-best four interceptions, while Anthony Witherstone has three.

Defensively for the Titans, Jake Stachurski has stood out rushing the passer and clogging the run up front. He’ll need to step up for Toll Gate and pace the defensive efforts today.

With Vets closing, who knows if this may be the last Hendricken-Toll Gate Thanksgiving game, with many anticipating that the two Warwick schools remaining will play each other next year.

Because of this, the game means that much more to the two schools.

“It’s sad,” Croft said of the tradition potentially coming to an end. “I played here back in the heyday when [Toll Gate] was in Division I and there were a few years where we couldn’t beat them.”