Bring Back the Thanksgiving Football Classic – Westfield vs. Plainfield

Mr Local History Bring Back Thanksgiving Day Football westfield v Plainfield 1

Westfield v. Plainfield
Blue Devils v. Cardinals
Bring it back ON Thanksgiving!

🏈 The Westfield – Plainfield Thanksgiving Day Football Game. Few local rivalries in New Jersey carry the history and heart of Westfield versus Plainfield. Their first meeting dates back to the turn of the 20th century, with the annual Thanksgiving Day game beginning officially in 1944. For eight decades, the matchup was a fixture, a Thanksgiving Day holiday ritual shared by two Union County communities that took immense pride in their teams.

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The smell of fall, the crunch of frozen grass, and the echo of marching bands warming up, for more than a century, that was Thanksgiving morning in Westfield and Plainfield. Before the turkey went in the oven, generations gathered at the local high school field to settle one of New Jersey’s fiercest rivalries.

The Westfield–Plainfield football game was more than a matchup. It was a social ritual, a meeting of neighbors divided by colors: the Blue Devils in blue and the Cardinals in red. Families bundled in blankets filled the stands, cheerleaders waved mittens in the cold air, and alumni returned home just to see who would take the Turkey Bowl bragging rights.

From the 1940s through the 1980s, the annual game was as dependable as the parade or pumpkin pie. Westfield’s dominance became legendary, yet Plainfield’s rare victories sent waves of pride through the city. When the Cardinals stunned the Devils 14–9 in 2024, ending a 17-year drought, old timers said it “felt like Thanksgiving again.”

By the numbers, Westfield has led most of the way, holding a 67–46–7 advantage as of 2025. The rivalry has weathered wars, social change, and the evolution of high school sports itself. From mud-soaked fields in the 1940s to packed bleachers in the 1970s, each generation has its own memory of those frosty November mornings.

Plainfield’s dramatic win in 2024, which snapped a 17-game losing streak, rekindled the rivalry’s old fire — a reminder of how deeply this game connects to local identity. When the schools met in August 2025 for the first time outside the Thanksgiving holiday in nearly eighty years, the shift marked the end of one era and the beginning of another. Yet, for alumni and fans on both sides, it will always be remembered as the Thanksgiving game.

🏈 Westfield vs. Plainfield: Players & Rivalry Stats

Legendary Players

Player	School / Year	Highlights
Butch Woolfolk	Westfield – Class of 1978	All-State running back, set school records with 1,637 rushing yards, 34 touchdowns, and 206 points. Went on to star at the University of Michigan and play in the NFL.
Milt Campbell	Plainfield – Class of 1953	Track and football standout, later became Olympic decathlon gold medalist (1956) and played for the Cleveland Browns and CFL. Widely regarded as Plainfield’s greatest all-around athlete.
Glen Kehler	Westfield – Class of 1975	Powerful running back who became a Rutgers standout and later played for the New York Giants. Remembered for leading the Blue Devils’ ground game in the 1970s.
Luke Jordan	Westfield – Class of 2024	Thanksgiving 2023 hero with 2 interceptions, 100 rushing yards, and a touchdown, sealing another Westfield win.
Jordan Walsh	Westfield – Class of 2026	Scored the game-winning TD in the August 2025 opener, the first non-Thanksgiving matchup in nearly 80 years.

Rivalry by the Numbers

Category	Stat / Note
First Meeting	1900 – Westfield 26, Plainfield 0
Thanksgiving Tradition	1944–2024 (annual holiday matchup)
All-Time Series (as of 2025)	Westfield 67 wins, Plainfield 46 wins, 7 ties
Most Recent Thanksgiving Game (2024)	Plainfield 14, Westfield 9 – first Plainfield win since 2011
Westfield’s Longest Win Streak	17 straight (2006–2019, 2021–2023)
Plainfield’s Longest Win Streak	11 straight (1949–1959)
Largest Westfield Win	45–0 (1969)
Largest Plainfield Win	40–0 (2004)
Total Points Scored (All-Time)	Westfield 1,593 – Plainfield 1,255
Scoreless Ties	6 (1916, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1985, 1993)
Notable Non-Thanksgiving Game	1976 Playoffs – Westfield 14, Plainfield 0

🏆 State Champion Summary

School	Official NJSIAA Titles	Undefeated Seasons	Notable Eras
Plainfield	3 (1977, 1981, 1995)	2 (1977, 1981)	“Campbell–Scott–Anderson Era” – Powerhouse decades of the 1950s–1980s
Westfield	4 (1979, 1986, 2015, 2016, 2017)	3 (1979, 2016, 2017)	“Kehler–DeSarno Dynasty” – 1970s–1980s dominance and 2010s revival

Why The Tradition Ended

The biggest factor was the state playoff calendar. When the NJSIAA introduced football playoffs in 1974, postseason games began extending into mid-November and sometimes beyond Thanksgiving. For decades, the holiday matchup had served as a natural finale for both teams, but as playoff structures expanded, the timing no longer fit. Coaches and athletic directors were concerned about player fatigue and injuries, particularly for teams like Westfield, which frequently advanced deep into the postseason.

Competitive balance also played a role. While Westfield’s program remained consistently strong throughout the 2000s and 2010s, Plainfield went through several rebuilding periods, resulting in extended periods of lopsided results. Westfield’s seventeen-game winning streak from 2006 through 2023 made it harder to sustain fan excitement and community engagement. When Plainfield finally broke the streak with a 14–9 victory on Thanksgiving 2024, it felt like a perfect ending, a symbolic closure to one of New Jersey’s oldest rivalries.

Logistics added to the challenge. Thanksgiving games required marching bands, cheer squads, and maintenance crews to work through the holiday. With family travel and smaller rosters, it became harder for both schools to manage a full-scale event. “It’s hard to keep a holiday tradition alive when the sport’s entire schedule has moved up a month,” one Westfield official observed.

The Classic That Needs A Comeback

Today, alumni from both Westfield and Plainfield remember those mornings vividly: the crisp air, the marching bands, the smell of cider, and the roar of the crowd. The Blue Devil-Cardinals Thanksgiving rivalry wasn’t just a football game. It was a community gathering, a small-town holiday ritual, and a symbol of local pride that lives on in the memories of every player and fan who experienced it. And with a series this tight, why would you not do it?