Football preview: Tradition continues in Salem, Beverly, Gloucester, Danvers

According to Merriam-Webster, a tradition is an inherited, established or customary pattern of thought, action or behavior.Four Northeastern Conference football teams will extend their lengthy rivalries with their traditional Thanksgiving Day match-ups.Beverly will host Salem in a rivalry that will take place for the 117th time. Beverly finished the season with a 4-6 record, while Salem was 0-10. Despite the difference in records, Panthers coach Dan Bauer knows his team will be in for a battle.?Salem is a young team, and they are a much better team than their record indicates,” Bauer said.Beverly will be leaning on the running duo of Matt Madden and Christian Miller, as they combined to accumulate over 1,800 yards rushing.?We have had a strong running attack this year,” Bauer said. “To go along with running the ball, we will have to be fundamentally stout on both sides of the ball to come out victorious.”First-year Salem head coach Matt Bouchard is looking for his first career win, and coming against Beverly on Thanksgiving would be a dream come true according to Bouchard.?The Salem high football program has been in existence for 124 years,” Bouchard said. “Being the coach of a football team that has such longevity is a privilege. The guys have come a long way since our first game, and I believe we saved our best performance for last.”The Witches will be looking for underclassmen Javier Robles (junior running back) and Jared Lubas (sophomore quarterback) to have a big impact.?Javier has done a great job running the ball, and Jared has shown great composure under center since becoming the starter three weeks ago,” Bouchard said. “I expect these two young men to be the backbone of our team not only this week, but for the future.”Bouchard has been impressed watching his seniors lead on and off the field.?I can?t thank this senior class enough for the time and effort they put in this year getting the Salem football program back on track,” Bouchard said.Danvers will host Gloucester for their traditional rivalry.Danvers (5-5) has had an up-and-down season, said coach Shawn Theriault, but he would like his team to end the season on a high note.?Our rivalry with Gloucester is one of the best in all of Massachusetts,” Theriault said. “Even though there is a playoff system now implemented, we are excited to be a part of such an emotional and physical game rivalry.”The Falcons will have 20 seniors playing their last high school game in front of their home crowd. Theriault hopes having so much experience will pay dividends in the end.?It will be a bittersweet moment for these 20 young men, but I expect them to leave it all out on the field,” Theriault said. “Gloucester is a much younger team than us, but they run the ball as good as any team we have played. We have to stop the run, and be able to run the ball ourselves. If we can do those two things, we will be in great shape.”Danvers will be looking for sophomore Matt Andreas to play a big role.?Matt is all over the field, and can be a factor in all three phases of the game,” Theriault said. “He is a unique talent, and I?m glad he will be playing for Danvers the next two seasons.”