Fenway Football: Reading’s Austin Prep Gears Up For Unique Thanksgiving Game

READING, MA — The Austin Preparatory School football team will mark a unique day of football on the big stage next week when it takes the field in Boston for one of five scheduled Thanksgiving games at Fenway Park this year.

The Fenway Sports Management Group announced the Thanksgiving schedule in August, reviving a tradition that has seen other schools cycle through Fenway in past years.

Austin Prep’s game is set for 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 23. The team is set to take on St. Mary’s School of Lynn.

“Playing in historic Fenway Park is a great opportunity for our student-athletes at Austin Prep,” Austin Prep Head Football Coach John Florence said in a statement earlier this year. “It is a unique opportunity that not many other high school football players get to experience.”

“I'm sure there will be a great crowd and the atmosphere will be electric,” Florence continued. “St. Mary's is a well-coached program and it will hopefully be a great game.”

Tickets are on sale for this year’s Fenway games. Tickets cost $20, with 25% of the ticket price going back to the school that each individual buyer is supporting. General admission tickets can be purchased online here.

See more about the games here.

Austin Prep decamped from the MIAA to the New England Prep School Athletic Council this year for its fall slate of athletic competitions.

Austin Prep saw its share of struggles in its first NEPSAC season, playing to an 0-9 win-loss record as of this week.

St. Mary’s will represent a change of pace, though, with Austin Prep reverting to a familiar MIAA opponent to end its season. St. Mary’s is in the midst of a playoff run, scheduled to face Rockland this week in a final four semifinals game in the MIAA’s Division 6 state championship bracket.

A win this week for St. Mary’s could change the nature of the team’s meeting with Austin Prep next week, landing this Fenway Park game on the eve of the state championships early next month.

The Austin Prep/St. Mary’s rivalry dates back years. Lynn won the most recent meeting of the two schools last fall, defeating Austin Prep 42-21.