Photo: Belmont High’s QB Jayden Arno (number 3) will lead the Marauders against the Watertown High Raiders on Thanksgiving

The second century of battling for Turkey Day football dominance begins Thursday at Victory Field when the Watertown High School host the Belmont High Marauders in the 101st edition of the Thanksgiving Day game.

Kickoff for this rivalry is scheduled for 10:15 a.m. on Thanksgiving. Tickets are $10 at the gate.

The Marauders will be looking for payback for the Fenway game as the Raiders scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter to come away with a 21-7 victory, its third consecutive victory.

Belmont (5-4) comes into game as Middlesex League Liberty Division champions – the first league title since 1965 – as a resurgent Marauders led by third year head coach Brian McCray nearly ran the league table to go 4-1, defeating teams such as Woburn and Reading for the first time in more than a decade. Belmont earned a place in the Division 2 playoffs in which a severely depleted Marauders squad – missing its all-star running back, several linebackers and the team’s MVP and kicker due to injuries – was defeated by host Wellesley, 42-0.

Watertown’s season (3-7) has been a lackluster one, losing each of its five Middlesex League Freedom Division matches to finish last in the division. The Raiders appear to found some form coming into the contest on a two-game win streak defeating Arlington Catholic and Greater Lowell in a pair of non-playoff games.

First contested in 1921, Watertown leads the series 50-45-5. The game was cancelled twice, in 1940 due to a snowstorm, and in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.