It started off simple enough, a group of State College Area High School alumni gathering to play football on Black Friday.
It has grown into something extraordinary.
It’s called the “Turkey Bowl,” but it’s actually a touch football tournament that raises money for charity.
“It’s grown over the years and kinda taken on a life of its own,” said former State High and Penn State quarterback Chris Ganter. “It started about 10 years go, right after I finished playing at Penn State. We’d get touch (football) games together up in Holuba Hall. We started with 10 to 20 guys and each year it just kept growing.”
This year’s Turkey Bowl makes the move to State College’s Memorial Field. Gates will open at 9 a.m. Games begin at 10:30 and Ganter expects everything to be wrapped up by 3.
According to Ganter, the move to Memorial Field is an exciting one.
“We got to do this one year on Memorial Field and it was awesome. It just hasn’t worked out in the past couple of years. We had to jump through a couple of hoops to make it happen. I got on it early enough this year to make it happen,” he said.
For the past several years, the game has been played on the field near State High’s South Building.
Ganter said he expects over 100 former State High players to participate in the Turkey Bowl. Each graduating class fields a team of five or more players for the tournament. There’s a bracket and games are played throughout the day. A champion will be crowned by mid-afternoon.
“It really took off,” Ganter said of the tournament. “It’s something people really look forward to and get talking about. For seven years or so we’ve been doing it in this style. This year, we will have somehwere between 12 and 15 teams out there.”
Several classes will be represented at the tournament, including a class from the 1990s. The group from the 90s is the oldest group playing in the tournament, he said.
“The guys that played in the 90s, they can’t quite field a team with just one class,” Ganter explained. “It gets harder with people getting married, having kids and stuff.”
Last year, the money raised was donated to Coaches vs. Cancer. This year, money raised will go toward scholarship awards handed out at the State High Senior Banquet. There will also be donations to charities in the names of sick and lost teammates.
The charitable aspect started
“A couple of years ago, I thought it would be a cool idea to do it for charity. At that point, we’d have everyone throw in $5, $10, $20, whatever you can. Last year, one of our former teammates was really, really sick so we donated to Coaches vs. Cancer in his name,” Ganter explained.
Ganter is hoping that by playing at Memorial Field, more fans will come out to watch the games.
“I wanted to make it a little bigger. When we were playing at the (high school) track, no one was coming to watch. It’s a big event. There are 120 guys out here playing … I think it’s something that people will want to see,” he said.
There is no charge for admission to Memorial Field on gameday, but Ganter hopes those attending will make a donation.
“We’re still figuring out how the funds raised are going to be split. Part of it will be going to scholarships for the State High football team that are given out at the senior banquet,” Ganter said. “We’re still figuring out the exact mix and how that’s going to work.”
Those attending will see plenty of activity. Ganter said that the Memorial Field surface will be divided up so that four games will be going on at one time.
“It’s really backyard-style football,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
IF YOU GO
What: Turkey Bowl
Where: Memorial Field, State College
When, 10:30 a.m., Friday, Nov. 29
Cost: Admission is free, donations are encouraged
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