Thanksgiving football — on Wednesday night

For decades, Thanksgiving morning in South Jersey has meant the smell of a turkey in the oven and the sights and sounds of high school football.

But the second half of that tradition is starting to give way.

More and more schools are scheduling games on Thanksgiving eve in hopes of increasing attendance and freeing up the holiday for family-related events.

"People are so busy and do so much traveling to get to Thanksgiving dinner," said Kingsway athletic director Joe Galliera, whose school will host rival Clearview on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

"This creates more of an opportunity for people to have more time to spend with their families."

The Clearview-Kingsway clash is one of 10 games scheduled for Wednesday night in South Jersey.

Unofficially, that is believed to be the most games ever on Thanksgiving eve.

Others this year include Pennsauken at Bishop Eustace, Cherry Hill East at Cherry Hill West, and Penns Grove at Pennsville.

"We're looking forward to playing under the lights," Cherry Hill East coach Tom Coen said.

"It's exciting for our kids and it enables more people to spend more time with their family on Thanksgiving."

Sterling and Collingswood have been playing their annual game on Thanksgiving eve for about 15 years.

That started when Collingswood added lights to its football stadium in the mid-1990s and was looking for a way to boost attendance.

St. Augustine Prep and Buena also have played on Wednesday for years, and Paul VI has begun to play Camden Catholic on Wednesday night, when the Eagles host the Irish in the annual game.

Clearview athletic director Greg Horton moved the game against Kingsway to Wednesday night last season.

"I heard that a few schools had great success moving their games from Thanksgiving morning to Wednesday night," Horton said.

"We wanted to try it and see if it was worth our time. It was a successful evening."

Horton said the change was a positive.

"Reaction was mixed at first when people heard about us moving the game," Horton said.

"We had a couple of school alumni call in and say it was not right to move the game. The great majority of people had positive things to say once we experienced the Wednesday night game."

Galliera said Kingsway football coach Tony Barchuk approached him with the idea of following Clearview's lead and moving the Dragons' home game to Wednesday night.

"We talked with the adminstration, the school board, a lot of different people," Galliera said. "Most people seem to think it's a good idea."

Collingswood at Sterling, 7

WEST JERSEY COLONIAL

Allentown at Northern Burlington, 7

WEST JERSEY LEAGUE PATRIOT

Holy Cross at Willingboro, 6

NONLEAGUE

Bridgeton at Burlington Twp., 5

Pennsauken at B. Eustace, 6

Cherry Hill East at Cherry Hill West, 6

Penns Grove at Pennsville, 6

Glassboro at Deptford, 7

Clearview at Kingsway, 7

St. Augustine at Buena, 7