You expect him to concentrate in classes today? Get even 1 minute of sleep tonight? You do realize what's in the offing, correct?

The 5-9, 185-pound Butler, a senior inside linebacker, is about to play his final football game for North Catholic High.

That circumstance alone would have him bubbling with nervous anticipation. And now the game, pitting the Falcons vs. Frankford in the granddaddy of the city's Public-Catholic Thanksgiving rivalries, could be the final game in school history.

The archdiocese announced Oct. 8 its plans to close North and Cardinal Dougherty this June. Though strong rumors have recently surfaced claiming North will be saved, even that an announcement is coming by mid-December, no one has publicly admitted knowing for sure.

Plus, if North does survive, what form will it take? Will a full sports program be maintained?

Not knowing a while back what would happen, school officials began planning for The Final Game.

They pursued several options for a larger game site and finally settled on La Salle University. Kickoff will occur at the ever-popular 9:45, which has always been billed as the nation's earliest holiday starting time.

"As this approaches, I'm just ecstatic," Butler said yesterday.

As he talked, he was stretched out in the stands in the school's famous gymnasium, The Pit. The last full-scale practice, under gloomy skies on a muddy field, would begin a half-hour later.

"Here it comes. The big last game," he continued. "It's a little hard for some of us to even fathom, especially when we hear talk that 10,000 people could be there.

"I can't wait for the big moment to finally get here. I'm so excited. Lately, the days just seem longer and longer."

Butler is a third generation North student. His late grandfather, Thomas Butler, graduated in 1939. His father, Robert ('79), and cousin, Mark Butler ('99), also called the place home for 4 years and were part of the football program, at least for a while.

"My stepdad, Tim Mackin, also went here," Butler said. "He graduated in '75 or '76. He always kids around with me that I forget to mention him when I talk about the North grads in my family."

If you're thinking that Butler must live within footsteps of North, stop. His Mayfair home is a short walk from Father Judge.

"I didn't want to take the easy way," he said, laughing. "I wanted to come here because of all the family tradition."

Speaking of tradition . . .

The North-Frankford series began in 1928, and the Pioneers won that first meeting, 20-7. North rebounded in '29 and owns the edge in the 79 years of holiday action (41-34-4).

Except for a tie in '44, the Falcons captured every meeting from '42 through '54. In two of those seasons, Frankford was the Pub champion.

Such disappointment for the Pioneers was not unusual. In all, North owns 15 wins over Frankford teams that won titles. In six of those seasons, Frankford fell to no one else and, in the same number, North had losing records.

The insanity reached an all-time high in 2005: North's only win was over a championship Frankford squad.

Frankford coach Mike Capriotti knows from sinking holiday feelings. The '70 grad was the top back for the '69 Pioneer champions, who suffered a 24-14 setback. (He doesn't remember if he scored. He did not.)

"I remember my dad took me to the '64 game at [long-gone] Temple Stadium," Capriotti said. "That's my first memory. The place was packed and rockin.'

"This has been such a great neighborhood rivalry. It's really had a life of its own. You don't know what's going to happen because you hear the rumors, but I'm really sad to think that North might close. I know one thing: Alumni are coming out of the woodwork."

The previous gigantic moment in the series occurred in 1978. Twenty-five thousand showed up at Veterans Stadium for the 50th anniversary contest to watch North triumph, 21-14, on a touchdown by Dan Galiczynski. (Yes, Frankford was also the Pub kingpin that year.)

North's history features two glory periods. It won four consecutive CL titles beginning in 1934 (shared) and four more from '49 to '56. It added City Titles - the series didn't start until 1938 - in '49, '52 and '56.

In a strange twist, North coach Chalie Szydlik and four of his assistants - one is his son, C.J. - are Frankford products.

"With the uncertainty, I've told my coaches they're free to look around for other jobs," Szydlik said. "What am I going to do? Take a break and then see where things stand."

The underclassmen seem to be split. While some are looking forward to their next school, others are picturing a save.

Yesterday, Szydlik stood in front of the players, as they prepared for calisthenics, and told them they were about to begin the school's final, official, full-scale practice. (Today will bring a walk-through.)

"What are you going to remember?" he yelled.

Butler, who's receiving Division II-III interest and hopes to work in the medical field, had already addressed that subject.

"I'm going to remember all the players. They're basically like family," he said. "All the close games. All the heartbreaking losses. All the great wins. All the past players. This builds your character.

"This year has been so emotional. When the news about the closing came, that put a chip on our shoulder. It was like, 'Someone downtown is trying to close our school?' That pushed us all the way to the [AAA] championship game. Couldn't close things out, but we got there. Everyone did their best."

Now comes The Final Game.

"We have to do this for everyone," Robert Butler said.