The Muir Mustangs defeated their crosstown rival Pasadena Bulldogs Saturday 33-14 during the 72nd Turkey Tussle at the Rose Bowl, in a Rio Hondo League game. Despite the loss, Pasadena ended the weekend with the good news that the team was advancing to the CIF Ford Southern Section Division 11 playoffs that begin this week. […]
The Muir Mustangs defeated their crosstown rival Pasadena Bulldogs Saturday 33-14 during the 72nd Turkey Tussle at the Rose Bowl, in a Rio Hondo League game.
Despite the loss, Pasadena ended the weekend with the good news that the team was advancing to the CIF Ford Southern Section Division 11 playoffs that begin this week. The Bulldogs have not advanced to the playoffs since 2011.
Muir dominated the second half in the Rose Bowl after starting slow.
The Mustangs put up 27 unanswered points in the last two quarters with a pair of touchdowns by senior running back Jahlique Stevens.
Stevens finished with 117 on the ground and three receptions for 97 yards, and senior wide receiver Caleb Snowden contributed seven receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown.
The teams were tied 7-7 at halftime, and the Mustangs led by only one, 14-13, after the third quarter. Then those 27 points followed easily for Muir, helped by some miscues on Pasadena’s side.
“Mustangs win another Tussle! 33-14!!!” John Muir High tweeted after the game.
The administration at Pasadena High also went on Twitter to congratulate the Mustangs.
“Congratulations to John Muir on winning the Tussle. It was a tough loss for our boys today, but this season taught them what is needed to win. We had our good days and we had our tough days. Regardless, it is always a great day to be a Bulldog. Nothing but love for this team,” their tweet said.
Named for the first game in 1947, which was held on Thanksgiving Day, the Turkey Tussle is fought yearly between John Muir High School and Pasadena High School at the world-class Rose Bowl Stadium. At stake yearly are bragging rights and the honor of bringing home the Victory Bell, which has a history of its own.
The story tells that the Victory Bell dates back to a friendly wager between two fathers in 1955. One, the parent of a PHS Bulldog student, had bragged about how badly Pasadena was going to beat Muir in the game. A Muir dad took offense and fired back that Muir will be victorious. After heated discussion, a wager was struck between the two excited men, not for money, but for pride.
It seems the PHS dad was a retired Santa Fe railroad man, and as a retirement gift from the railroad he was awarded the bell from his locomotive train. He bet that PHS would defeat Muir and was willing to put his most sacred possession, the bell, up as the prize.
PHS did win that game and the bell was heard ringing loud and clear after the game.
The following year, the father once again put the bell up as a symbol for the victor — but Muir won the game. Muir demanded that the bell be sent to their campus until they played again next year. And so the tradition began.
Every year, the Pasadena Unified School District ensures that the Turkey Tussle continues to instill a strong sense of school pride for the communities they serve, gets regional attention, and reunites alumni, many of whom would fly in from all over the country to cheer on their teams.
