Thanksgiving football

For the last several years, the sports department has had an office pick'em to help pass the time during our deadline-crazed Friday nights. While I won my fair share of Friday Night Frenzys, I never won the one for the Thanksgiving games. Let's see how I fare in forecasting tomorrow's games (winners in bold):

Archbishop Williams at Cardinal Spellman: I'd love to go with Bill Kinsherf's team, but Archies isn't trending the right way. The Bishops are 0-4 in league play, while the Cardinals are 3-1 against those same teams.

Braintree at Milton: Good reporting from my successor as the high school sports coordinator, Eric McHugh, about All-Scholastic Joe Donovan being able to return from injury. He should provide the difference like he did in last year's game.

North Quincy at Quincy: Last year North had the better record and frankly choked. It's been a disappointing season for both, but I like the Red Raiders to finally break their skid.

Hanover at Norwell: Look for the Clippers to come up with a big play or two in a close game.

Weymouth at Walpole: I'd like the Wildcats more if they were at home, but at least my hometown pick is justified by the return of P.J. Bonarrigo to bolster an already strong running attack.

Hingham at Scituate: The Sailors won't lack motivation, coming off their crushing OT loss to Duxbury and with the Harbormen winning the last six in this series.

Marshfield at Duxbury: Lots of intrigue in this game, with both meeting in next Tuesday's EMass D2A playoff game. In some years Marshfield's torn-up field has hampered their run-based offense; that won't be the case on Duxbury's artificial turf.

Rockland at East Bridgewater: I witnessed the Vikings' porous defense against Norwell, and I've got to believe the playoff-bound Bulldogs will take advantage.

Whitman-Hanson at Abington: The Green Wave seniors missed the playoffs; they surely won't want to be the first AHS team to lose on Thanksgiving in a while.

Bridgewater-Raynham at Randolph: The Blue Devils have got to find a more appropriate opponent; the Trojans are one of the biggest schools in the area.

Silver Lake at Pembroke: Not even the presence of Bob Bancroft can turn the Titans around in this series ... though give him a few years.

Plymouth North at Plymouth South: When in doubt, I don't pick against a Bill Burkhead team.

BC High at Catholic Memorial: I like the fact that the Eagles have fared better among their common opponents.

Cohasset at Hull: The Pirates have beaten one team with a winning record; that won't do against the playoff-bound Skippers.

South Shore Votech at Southeastern: The Vikings haven't had the horses to thrive in their wishbone-run attack.

Bristol-Plymouth at Blue Hills: The host Warriors have won three straight, but the playoff-bound Craftsmen are markedly better than those foes.

For more on these games, check out the Ledger's Thanksgiving special section on the newsstands Wednesday. Happy Thanksgiving!