KIRKWOOD, Mo. — The oldest high school football rivalry game west of the Mississippi River will not be played in 2020.
On Friday, Kirkwood announced its annual "Turkey Day" Thanksgiving game against Webster Groves would be canceled this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The Kirkwood program already had to forfeit its first-round playoff game because of COVID-19 concerns within the team but was still hopeful to play the annual Thanksgiving rivalry against Webster Groves.
5 On Your Side also learned Webster Groves was forced to end its season on Friday and forfeit to Oakville because of COVID-19 concerns within the Statesmen program.
In a release, Kirkwood said canceling the Turkey Day game was a joint decision by both schools to end their seasons Friday due to growing COVID-19 cases and quarantines which have caused limited practices over recent weeks, and more safety concerns.
2020 would have been the 112th time the two schools have met in the battle for the Frisco Bell. Webster Groves leads the series of all games 54-50-7, but Kirkwood has the lead in Turkey Day games with a record of 43-37-5. The Pioneers would have been going for their eighth straight Frisco Bell in 2020.
