On Thursday morning, Nov. 27th, better known as Thanksgiving, young men from Watertown and Belmont will suit up to play football for the chance to say “we beat them” in the 103rd edition of the Raiders versus Maurauders rivalry. And the beauty of it all is that it doesn’t matter what has transpired leading up to this game, either this season in terms of each schools overall record or past Thanksgiving Day games. It’s all about the day at hand and trying to put together 48 minutes of winning football.
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That doesn’t mean there aren’t “hangovers” from previous results. Sure, Belmont put a whooping on the Raiders in 2023 at Victory Field, but they were a skilled and senior-laden team, and clearly the better football team. And sure, the Raiders returned the favor and shut out Belmont on a miserably cold and windy and rainy day at Belmont last year, but again the proof is in the pudding; 2024 was a down year for Belmont and Watertown was clearly the better team.
From a simply historical standpoint, the Raiders lead the series 51 to 46, with five games ending in a tie. (There was no game in 2020 due to the pandemic.) The past five game results look like this:
2024… Watertown 23, Belmont 0 at Belmont
2023… Belmont 47, Watertown 0 at Watertown
2022… Watertown 21, Belmont 7 at Fenway (100th Game)
2021… Watertown 25, Belmont 0 at Watertown
2019… Belmont 24, Watertown 14 at Watertown
The tale of Watertown’s season heading into Thursday’s game is littered with what-ifs. Watertown went 2-1 to start the season versus non-league opponents, and felt good about itself heading into a tough league schedule. On offense, the Raiders were equipped with a junior quarterback with a good arm and the ability to run, Coleman Keuchkarian-McKeen, and he was off to a great start. The Raiders also possessed a “five-headed running back” manned by Jayden Pineda, Patrick McHugh, Gabe Oliveira De Mattos, Mike Ramirez and Andy Riefstahl. The line was bigger and stronger after a vigorous off-season workout regimen, led by captains Billy Werra and Peter Pavlidis. On defense, the Raiders strived to gang-tackle on every down and make opponents earn every yard.
But as is often the case for the Raiders, the room for error is slim, and the capacity to overcome injuries is even slimmer. The Raiders travelled to Stoneham and lost a hard-fought game 24-12, and the following week the same could be said as they travelled to Wakefield and lost 27-17. In week three of a three-game road trip, the worst-case scenario reared its ugly head, as Keucharian-McKeen went down early versus Melrose with a season-ending knee injury, and Watertown was shut out 21-0.
Head Coach Joey Carroll, in his second year leading Raiders Football, did his best to improvise and reshuffle, using a two-headed approach with Jayden Pineda and Lucas Bray at QB. With little time to prepare for first-place and undefeated Burlington, the Raiders suffered their fourth straight loss, at Victory Field. The following week, the Raiders looked great for a half against Wilmington, with Bray taking the majority of the snaps at QB, and Pineda and company running the ball with authority. But, the injury bug attacked again, and Bray was unable to continue in the second half, and the Raiders just couldn’t maintain their first-half mojo.
So, a record that started 2-1 was suddenly 2-6. The Raiders spent November practicing hard and winning at Malden by 19, while coming up short at Newton South, losing 28-21, and therefore heading into Thursday’s game at 3-7. (Belmont seeks its first win of the year, coming in 0-9).
While the Raiders can lean on a few W’s and Coach Carroll’s belief that they are turning the corner as a program, with numbers up and the middle school fielding a team, one is not so sure of Belmont’s psyche. Belmont followed up their 2-9 campaign in ’24 with an 0-9 record this season. Five of those losses were by shut out, and they were all lopsided affairs to boot. No one wishes that kind of season on their worst enemy, and certainly Watertown needs to recognize a simple truth of sports — a team with an bruised and beaten psyche is often the most dangerous one to play against, especially in a rivalry setting.
So, there you go. Head-to-head, Watertown and their 51 wins takes on Belmont and their 46 wins at Victory Field Thursday morning at 10 A.M. It’s always an emotional day, especially for the Senior class. And not only is Thursday the Annual Thanksgiving Day Gam, it’s also Senior Day for the Raiders. The Senior roll call:
Patrick McHugh
Joe Wilson (captain)
Lucas Bray
Gabe Oliveira De Mattos
Peyton Nsubuga
Rafael Pimentel Santos
Mike Ramirez
Jayden Ortiz
Caleb Hardy
Pedro Tancredo
Zac Wolfe
The weather forecast looks like a beauty — sunny and in the mid-40s. Leave a little extra time if you intend on attending the game — parking will be tight and the Victory Field lot is under construction/closed. Tickets purchased before Wednesday, Nov. 26 at 3 p.m. are $7 for adults and $5 for students (plus a $1 fee). Any tickets purchased after 3 p.m. on the 26th, or on the morning of the game, are $10. The game will air live on WCA-TV’s Education Channel (Comcast 8, RCN 15, or streaming); the broadcast will begin at 9:30 a.m., and kick off is scheduled for 10 a.m. (For a full listing of previous game results go to https://wcatv.org/hall-of-fame/)