After tough season, Panthers rewarded with Thanksgiving Eve game

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Assistant Sports Editor Family is a common theme around Thanksgiving, and the Johnston football team could tell you all about it.

The season has been filled with peaks and valleys for the Panthers, who finished the league calendar 2-5, but their bond has been undeniable.

“They stuck together,” Johnston head coach Joe Acciardo said. “We didn’t have anybody quit. When we started to lose a few games down the line, we were still close, we could’ve made the playoffs. Sometimes, when you’re not making it into the playoffs, kids will start to desert you. Everybody stuck it out with us.”

Johnston started the season with five consecutive defeats, two against Division I opponents in Woonsocket and Cranston West, prior to getting in the win column against Pilgrim on Oct. 15.

It would play stronger football from there even if the results didn't show it. Westerly was one of the elite squads in Division II-A, but Johnston nearly shocked it before ultimately falling 24-18. East Greenwich, another playoff crew, edged the Panthers as well, 47-40, in Johnston on senior night.

During any usual campaign, Johnston’s 41-14 defeat at the hands of Classical last week would have capped a disappointing season. However, the Panthers now get to indulge in a statewide tradition from which it was previously excluded.

For the first time ever, the boys in blue suited up for a Thanksgiving rivalry game against the undefeated Division III finalists Juanita Sanchez/PCD/Wheeler Co-op on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Results were unavailable at press time.

“It’s great to have our first Thanksgiving game,” senior wide receiver Nassir Vasquez, who has played four years with the team, said with a smile. “I thought we were going to go all through high school without one, and the fact we have one for the last game, it’s good to out and have a win. End the season out strong.”

Senior quarterback Kyle Nelson echoed Vasquez’s sentiments after having also played several seasons without an opportunity to compete for a Thanksgiving title.

“It’s really exciting and everything,” Nelson said. “Obviously everybody on our team finally gets to have the opportunity to have a Thanksgiving game. To be here, home field, for us, it’s exciting and inspirational for us. It’s a blessing.”

Nelson was under center for most of this season’s snaps, but he has been trying out a new position more recently. After playoffs were ruled out, Nelson wanted to try his hand at wide receiver. Junior Evin Calfiano took over signal-calling duties, and Johnston won its only league game using that formula, 42-38, over Coventry.

Nelson will line up on the outside once again against the Cavaliers, receiving one more opportunity to challenge himself at a another position he loves.

“Nothing really bothered me at quarterback, I’ve been playing quarterback a while,” Nelson said. “When it came time for realizing that we weren't going to make playoffs, I wanted to do something that I loved for my last few games as a senior. I feel comfortable here, I felt comfortable [at quarterback], too.”

For Carson Kenny, much like millions of Americans throughout the country, football is synonymous with Thanksgiving. Getting to play for bragging rights around the holiday means that friends and family will be on hand to witness the sport that goes hand-in-hand with turkey and stuffing.

“When I think of Thanksgiving, I think of two big NFL teams going at it while you’re eating turkey,” Kenny said. “You’re feeling like everyone is going to be watching you.”

Since the two teams aren’t natural enemies, like Cranston East and Cranston West, it could take some time to establish the foundation of a rivalry. Senior Evan Pennacchia said, though, that he didn’t anticipate much animosity at all even if one is built down the road.

“I think there’s going to be a lot of sportsmanship,” Pennacchia said. “It’s going to be a good, happy, uplifting game. It’s not going to be very cheap, dirty. It’s going to be a very emotional game because that’s it for us. They’re going to understand that. They’re close to the end, too, they have their Super Bowl and that’s it. I think it’s going to be a very good game.”

The wins and losses may have made for a tumultuous year overall, but the Panthers won’t remember the record. With Thanksgiving to reinforce the family feeling, Johnston will get to take the field one extra time in search of another victory.

“Just a bunch of great guys, they all have the same love and passion for the game as everyone else does,” Johnston senior Drew Martinelli said. “They all try as hard as they can every single time, and they just go hard and it makes it more fun to be able to play at such a nice level.”

“We’re a family,” Vasquez said. “This team is my second family. We just treat each other with love.”

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