Thanksgiving football will remain an annual tradition in the state thanks to the passage of a bill earlier this year.

Despite the weather, Darien school officials say an estimate 3,500 fans watched the Blue Wave play against New Canaan, a 30-year-old Thanksgiving rivalry.

However, a proposed schedule would have changed the state's high school football schedule and ended the regular season early, with championship games happening the weekend after Thanksgiving.

That would have ended teams' opportunities to play in Turkey Bowls, currently the last games of the regular season.

Following pushback, as part of a larger bill, state lawmakers passed legislation that said school boards cannot adopt any policy that would stop districts from scheduling games on Thanksgiving.