Turkey Bowl tradition lives on between Camden-Eastside High

CAMDEN. Nj - Thanksgiving and football go hand in hand and when you talk about it here in Camden, it’s all about the Turkey Bowl.

What’s a football game without the music, the big hits, and the passionate fans.

The combination of them all equals a good old fashioned rivalry game and in Camden, it’s the purple and gold Camden High School Panthers squaring off against the black and orange Eastside High School Tigers.

"Always a time to come out and show just who is the best team in Camden," says Duce Chestnut, a former Panther football player.

Chestnut currently plays defensive back at LSU but a few years ago he was a Panther superstar. 

On Thursday he couldn’t stay away from this game, in the place where it all started.

"Playing good defense, I didn’t give up no touchdowns that game so, that was probably the most memorable one, my freshman year," says Chestnut.

On the opposing side of the field, a former player for the Tigers.

"Two schools in the same city so, it’s like a battle each year so, it’s a good rivalry," says Raymond Payne, a former Tigers football player.

The battle is both on and off the field.

"If you are from here everybody knows about the turkey game so, when you are a baby, you come here in the stroller," says Jamal Dickerson, the Director of Bands at Camden High School.

How can you not know about a game that has now been going on for 90 years?

Dickerson says back in the day he was in his Panther uniform performing in front of the big crowd.

"We save everything we got for this game, this is our big game," says Dickerson.

It’s also a big game for Eastside alum Jha-Nai Wagner, who was out supporting her daughter who is a senior cheerleading captain for the Tigers.

Despite the big rivalry for many the Turkey Bowl is a reunion.

"You hear the score and that’s all we need to know, it’s more about the comradery, talking to friends," says Frank Oates, a Panthers alum.

"The strength of each community, the strength of each school, makes our city of Camden the great city it is," says Camden Mayor Victor Carstarphen.

As for anyone wondering about the final score, Eastside came out with the win 20 to 8.