Vaunted High School Football Rivalry Spans the Generations
(Published in The Providence Journal on Nov. 23, 2012)
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The yard lines of this Thanksgiving Day rivalry long ago became fault lines, handed off to new generations with every Turkey Day touchdown. East Providence High versus La Salle Academy, the Townies against the Rams; the stories a long-timer in the stands recounts of the old days. Hard to say the rivalry is as intense today as it was back then, but in one home there is a La Salle family member with an edict banning red. Then there is the East Providence family clad all in red. And there's the modern-day complication of cross-rivalry matrimony. Bob Jeffrey, who lives in New York but graduated from La Salle, in Providence, in 1971, came back for Thursday's game - the 85th Thanksgiving Day contest between the schools. He stood jovially with extended family in the Pierce Memorial Stadium parking lot. Wearing a La Salle sweatshirt, he and his brother, Doug Jeffrey Sr., spoke of another brother, who also went to La Salle and married a woman from East Providence High School. “We're curious which side of the football field” he will be on, Bob Jeffrey said. There had been jibes and lobbying in recent days. The brothers joked about it rising to the level of a threat to sit with La Salle. Bob Jeffrey knew who on the field would be carrying the family name: Chris Jeffrey, captain of the La Salle squad, who is his cousin. The family does a bit of tailgating before each La Salle game with eggs, doughnuts and coffee - Dunkin' Donuts coffee, Doug Jeffrey Sr., of Johnston, emphasizes, reaffirming that we are in Rhode Island. Rivalry aside, “it's a nice family day, we look forward to it,” Doug Jeffrey Sr. said. He attended Classical High School - but his three sons all went to La Salle. So have two nieces. In another corner of the parking lot, a multi-generational procession of Townies, the affectionate name bestowed on the East Providence team, its fans and city residents, headed for the entry gate. The Hawkins family was ensconced in red Townie gear and using words like "Townie pride." Lisa Hawkins graduated from East Providence High in 1985 and her brother played for the football team. She came with her husband, Rodney, who is from New York State but wore a Townies sweatshirt and Townies baseball cap. With them was their oldest son, Samuel, 17, who played in the school marching band and graduated last year, and another son, Noah, 11. Another son, in his junior year at East Providence, was out on the field warming up with the marching band. “It's just fun,” said Lisa Hawkins, who added that the rivalry doesn't really get too serious. “It's tradition.” She had spoken to her mother, who wondered whether East Providence could win this edition of the tradition. Rodney Hawkins said the team's record this season had been a bit more humbling but "maybe today's our game." Going into Thursday, La Salle had 46 wins, East Providence 36, with 2 ties, in a series that dates to 1927. La Salle's longest winning streak, of nine, spanned from 1940 to 1948; East Providence's big streak was eight victories from 1960 to 1967. La Salle has held the upper hand in all their meetings since East Providence last won in 2006. La Salle supporters soon had reason to cheer once more. The klop-a-ti-klop of the school bands' percussion sounded. The cheerleaders' pompoms swished. And touchdowns seemed to fall from the sky for La Salle. "Rams, 13 to nothing," the public address announcer said. That became 21-0 with five minutes and change left in the first quarter. La Salle went on to a 34-0 rout. In the Lepore family home in Portsmouth, a yard-line has been drawn and may not be crossed. Seated in the La Salle stands, Christine Lepore, wearing a maroon coat, said that previously the family had red clothes that matched Portsmouth High team colors. But that also might call to mind East Providence. She said her son told her “we couldn't buy red clothes anymore” and to generally stay away from red in the house. Instead, “it's got to be maroon.” Thursday's game was the family's first time at the Thanksgiving classic. Sophomore Derek Lepore plays for La Salle. In the upper reaches of the East Providence stands, Billy Conley, who graduated from East Providence in 1971, chatted with others about how he has never missed an E.P.-La Salle game since he was 6 years old. They threw out names of players who were good back in the day and spoke about how a fight or two used to break out in the stands. Conley, a strong East Providence supporter, and the others stood not far from the tent with the kettle corn and the snack shack with the scrambled eggs, and burgers and fries. “It's a great sense of tradition,” Conley said of the game. In the Conley household, the tradition includes a microcosm of the rivalry. He pointed across the field. His children, he said, attend La Salle. So, the night before the game, Conley had some of his East Providence friends over and his sons had La Salle friends over. There's a bit of ribbing about what will happen in the game. A triumph in an E.P.-La Salle game can generally inoculate against what happens to a team the rest of the season, he said. “Everybody seems to remember the years their side won big and seem to forget the years the other side won big,” Conley said.
