Eastside & Kennedy High Schools: A 100-Year Rivalry

For Paterson football fans and the community, Thanksgiving Day is celebrated not only with a plethora of food at dinner with friends and family but also with a traditional rivalry game: Eastside Ghosts vs. John F. Kennedy Knights.

Eastside and Kennedy will face each other in their 100th year of rivalry during the heated annual Turkey Bowl football game, while fans, alumni, residents, and the community cheer from the bleachers.

This showdown will surely ignite — or reignite for alumni — feelings of celebration, camaraderie, tension, and pride that will sweep through the stands. Over the decades, the game has been a significant showdown, serving as a rite of passage for students.

In last year’s 99th game, Kennedy Knights Coach Dupiche was seen actively encouraging his team on the field, repeatedly saying, “Be great today; it’s a great day to be great.”

Last year’s game culminated with the song ‘Celebration’ by Kool & The Gang as both teams lined up to show their good sportsmanship. Eastside defeated Kennedy with a score of 24-7, taking home the game-winning gold trophy.

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This victory marked Eastside’s fifth consecutive win.

A special giveaway of a pair of Beats Studio headphones was also awarded to the game’s MVP, number 8, wide receiver Zaire Belton.

It was one of Zaire’s final games as a senior at Eastside High School. He graduated in May 2024, and Belton has gone from Ghost to Pioneer—pursuing his love for the sport and majoring in criminology and criminal justice at William Paterson University.

This Paterson classic will take place at Hinchliffe Stadium for the second year since its reopening. The 1932 art deco stadium had been closed for 26 years before being fully renovated and reopened in May 2023, and has thus far hosted a multitude of sporting events and games, like soccer, football and baseball.

The Thanksgiving game is set to take place on Thursday, November 28th, with kickoff at 11am.

Tickets can be purchased at the door: $6 for adults and $4 for children.

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