For the 121st year in a row, the Medford and Malden High School football teams will be meeting on Thanksgiving morning to renew the country's third longest football rivalry.

But while this season has been a down year for the 0-9 Mustangs, team records go out the window once the sun rises on Thursday morning, head coach Rico Dello Iacono said. 

"This is our Super Bowl," said Dello Iacono. "Not too many kids in the country get to play in a game of this magnitude and our opportunity is coming right now. We're getting to play in the 123rd edition of this game. We're looking at this game like both teams are 0-0 like it's the first game of the year again."

Medford has had plenty of time to prepare for Thursday's showdown with its Greater Boston League rival. With their last game played close to two weeks ago, the Mustangs have been focusing nonstop on the Golden Tornadoes and know exactly what to expect once the whistle blows. 

"We've got a pretty good seven to 10 days of practice," said Dello Iacono. "We've really been getting back to basics... and we just have to be ready for a big physical Malden team. They're very big... they hit week in and week out."

Medford will be relying on the senior leadership of captains Alec Finn and Nick Murphy along with senior Malcolm Alexandre anchoring the offensive line and senior defensive back and wide receiver Ronnie Pitterson. 

For Finn and Murphy, this Thanksgiving Day game will be one more in a long family tradition. Finn's father, Ed Finn, played for Medford in the 1970s while his brother Ian played his final game for Medford on Thanksgiving in 2007. Murphy also had several brothers play for Medford on Thanksgiving. 

"You're not playing just for yourself," said Dello Iacono. "You're playing for the pride and the tradition and for the community. Our two captains are playing for their families that played before them."

It won't be easy to knock off a tough Malden team on Thursday morning, but if the Mustangs can pull out a win, it's sure to make this past season a lot more memorable, while making next season a lot more promising. 

"This season may have been a bad one, but we're going to go out there and we're going to play our best game," said Dello Iacono. "We're not going to think about those other nine game. To us, those other nine games don't exist. Not only is it the end of one season, but it's the beginning of next season."

Malden will be hosting this year's game at MacDonald stadium with kickoff scheduled for 10 a.m.