Why is Thanksgiving so important to Carl Albert? It's a checkpoint on the way to a goal.

MIDWEST CITY — When quarterback Kevin Sperry Jr. joined Carl Albert’s football program in June, his teammates were already mentioning Thanksgiving.

Oklahoma’s green foliage wouldn’t turn gold and red for months. Sunshine lasted well into the evening, and the scorching heat showed little sign of relenting during summer football workouts.

But at Gary Rose Stadium, talk of Turkey Day whispered through the air like a refreshing autumn breeze.

“From the first day I was here, I was hearing about it,” said Sperry, an OU commit who moved from Prosper, Texas, before his junior year of high school. “Just knowing how important it is to the guys and the coaches, it’s great that we made it here.”

For many Oklahomans who celebrate Thanksgiving, football is as synonymous with the holiday as turkey and pumpkin pie. The annual Dallas Cowboys game on TV, like a cornucopia perched on a dinner table, serves as a centerpiece for gathering. Families play backyard football, sometimes stirring up comical competition as if they’re Monica and Ross from Friends.

At Carl Albert, football on Thanksgiving is more than a leisurely pastime.

It’s a sign that a state title is within reach.

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In Classes 6A-C of Oklahoma high school football, only 48 teams are still competing.

In Class 5A, Carl Albert is one of four. The Titans treasure this opportunity to chase another championship, so their Thanksgiving Day practice has grown into a massive community event. Alumni and team parents flock to Gary Rose Stadium to watch.

Head coach Mike Dunn showed his enthusiasm early, sporting a knit cap that looked like a cartoon turkey last Friday when the Titans defeated Collinsville in the quarterfinals.

“Our main goal every year is always the same,” Dunn said. “We want to be the last team standing, but to do that, you gotta practice on Thanksgiving Day. Our kids know – we talk about ‘POTD’ in our first meetings – so our kids know that’s a big goal."

The “Practice on Thanksgiving Day” acronym has become a rally cry for the top-ranked, tradition-rich Titans, one that grows stronger as the calendar turns to November and the number of championship contenders dwindles.

As a powerhouse with 17 state titles, Carl Albert has kicked off many Thanksgivings on the football field. This is the Titans’ eighth straight year to extend their season past the food-filled holiday.

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With a state semifinal matchup against Bishop McGuinness awaiting on Friday, the Titans’ Thanksgiving practice is not all fun and games. It’s intense and physical, as receiver/cornerback Trystan Haynes quickly learned during his freshman year, when the weather was “super-cold,” he said.

Now accustomed to the tradition, Haynes – a junior who has offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma and more – sees it as a reflection of the caliber of his program.

“It’s just hard work,” Haynes said. “You gotta work hard to do what we do, so it’s necessary.”

Carl Albert’s goal of practicing on Thanksgiving has persisted for as long as Dunn can remember. His coach, the stadium’s namesake, organized the practices and emphasized their importance when Dunn played for the Titans in the late 1990s-early 2000s.

In the eyes of his teenage self, the Thanksgiving tradition was “just a practice,” Dunn said. But as a coach and Carl Albert alumnus, Dunn sees the ritual through a new lens. Carl Albert stars of the past meet current students, bringing generations of the program together like a family reunion.

“A couple years ago, when we did it my first year (as head coach), there was almost as many alumni as there were football players out on the field,” Dunn said. “It’s really special.”

As the coaching tree of Carl Albert alumni has flourished, the Thanksgiving tradition has spread, too. At nearby Del City, head coach Robert Jones is leading his inaugural Thanksgiving practice because the Eagles have reached the Class 5A semifinals for the first time since 1976.

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Jones, who played alongside Dunn at Carl Albert, is getting a chance to bring back some high school nostalgia with a different program.

“It's just a great feeling, especially before a must-win like we'll need in the semifinals,” Jones said. “... There are a lot of historical things happening around here right now, so why not recreate some of my old history and have our first-ever practice on Thanksgiving?”

At Carl Albert, the festivities continue to grow. Although the practice hasn’t historically involved a dinner, Dunn said someone is providing smoked turkey legs this year, so each player will have a Thanksgiving treat at the end.

The rest of the week involves food and camaraderie, too. Monday, Dunn posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) that he was hosting the team for fajitas, cake and ice cream.

On Thanksgiving, the Titans start practicing around 11:15 or 11:30 a.m., so their evenings will be free for other holiday plans before facing McGuinness the next day in Noble. Sperry said his favorite family Thanksgiving tradition is making pumpkin ravioli, a recipe passed down through generations.

Now that he’s playing for the Titans, he has a new tradition with his Carl Albert family.

“We try to keep legacies alive,” Dunn said. “A lot of the kids get to see faces with the names that they’ve heard, because there’s a lot of guys we tell stories about that come out, so it’s fun.”

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How are other state semifinalists combine football and Thanksgiving?

Jake Corbin, Choctaw football coach: “We’ll have 800 to 1,000 people here. All our little league will be here, smoked turkey legs, the whole community is here, Christmas music, all that. My family will be here. All the little guys for our practice on Thanksgiving. It’s a huge community event. Hot chocolate. I mean, the mayor will be here. It’s a really cool deal. So those are always my favorite football-related Thanksgiving memories — (they) have been spent here at Choctaw. Just ‘cause it really kind of encompasses the entire community for that Thanksgiving practice and it’s turned into a community-wide event. They have someone dressed up like the Grinch, and they do pictures and hot chocolate and homemade cinnamon rolls in the concession stand. We’ll have Christmas music and the kids wear their PJs and there’s little guys running around everywhere. It’s a really cool deal.”

Cash Williams, Choctaw junior quarterback: “On Thanksgiving last year, we had Thanksgiving practice and it was my first-ever Thanksgiving practice. Just seeing the atmosphere here was just amazing. All the fans showed up for our practice and we just got to practice and played together as brothers on Thanksgiving Day and then got to spend time with our family, watch a little bit more football at home. It was just a great feeling on that day. It’s crazy. I’ve never seen that much people at a practice. We have a little bit of fun. Listen to Christmas music, just eat smoked turkey legs, everything like that so it’s really fun.”

Jeff Craig, Blanchard football coach: “We always talk about the privilege of getting to practice on Thanksgiving Day because that means you’re in the semifinals. I got to practice on Thanksgiving Day in my son’s (former Blanchard receiver/safety Carson Craig) senior year (2017). Those things, you don’t get to do that very often. So to get to spend Thanksgiving with him on the practice field, getting ready for a game, was pretty special.”

Dawayne Hudson, Perkins-Tryon football coach (team’s first semifinal appearance since 2000): “We’re making a new tradition. We’re gonna practice about 8 a.m. Thursday morning. We’ve already had the whole week planned out. We’ll have dads and alumni; we’ll have some doughnuts and coffee for them. They’ll come out and watch practice. We’ll run through our Thursday practice schedule, and then go and be with our families and eat some good food.”

—Jordan Davis, Nick Sardis and Douglas Miles contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: How Carl Albert, other football semifinalists spend Thanksgiving