Wednesday Night Lights: Pasadena Tops Muir 47-0 in Annual Turkey Tussle

Pasadena Bulldogs exult after 47-0 victory over Muir Mustangs at the 75th Turkey Tussle in the Rose Bowl, Oct. 26, 2022. [Paul Takizawa / Pasadena Now]

Pasadena Bulldogs exult after 47-0 victory over Muir Mustangs at the 75th Turkey Tussle in the Rose Bowl, Oct. 26, 2022. . [Paul Takizawa / Pasadena Now]

It was a big night for Pasadena quarterback Indiana Wijay, who threw five touchown passes during the 75th Turkey Tussle in the Rose Bowl, Oct. 26, 2022. . [Paul Takizawa / Pasadena Now]

Pasadena controlled the field and kept the pressure on all night during the 75th Turkey Tussle in the Rose Bowl, Oct. 26, 2022. . [Paul Takizawa / Pasadena Now]

Pasadena quarterback Indiana Wijay watches from the sidelines during the 75th Turkey Tussle in the Rose Bowl, Oct. 26, 2022. Wijay threw five touchown passes. [Paul Takizawa / Pasadena Now]

Team spirit was strong but it wasn't enough for the Muir Mustangs during the 75th Turkey Tussle in the Rose Bowl, Oct. 26, 2022. [Paul Takizawa / Pasadena Now]

Pasadena Bulldog supporters brave cold weather in the Rose Bowl to watch their team steamroller the Muir Mustangs at the 75th Turkey Tussle in the Rose Bowl, Oct. 26, 2022. . [Paul Takizawa / Pasadena Now]

Mayor Victopr Gordo, Councilmember Justin Jones and Steve Madison, and an unidentified woman at the Turkey Tussle in the Rose Bowl, Oct. 26, 2022. [Paul Takizawa / Pasadena Now]

It’s more than a football game. Any Pasadenan will tell you that.

This year’s 75th annual “Turkey Tussle” homecoming contest between the Muir Early College Magnet Mustangs and the Pasadena High School Bulldogs proved to be a blowout Wednesday as the Bulldogs ran roughshod over the overmatched Mustangs, 47-0.

The Bulldogs led 27-0 at halftime, and continued to maul the Mustangs leading 45-0 at the end of the third quarter.

The win gives Pasadena its second straight Pacific League title.

The rivalry was lopsided in Muir’s favor from 1996 to 2016, when the Mustangs won the contest for twenty years straight. Muir players took little comfort in that fact, though, as some shell shocked players stood on the sidelines in tears while the lopsided score climbed.

It was a big night for Pasadena quarterback Indiana Wijay, who threw five touchown passes.

The Turkey Tussle tradition began in 1947 when the game was played between Pasadena Community College and John Muir Junior College until 1953. In 1954 the annual rivalry was played between what is now Pasadena High School and John Muir High School.

Possession of the Victory Bell is the prize for the winning school. The bell, a long-standing tradition between the two schools, originally arrived as a gift from the Santa Fe Railroad, presented at the 1955 Turkey Tussle pep rally.

The bell is now a perpetual trophy that rotates between the two campuses, kept for the year by the winner of the homecoming game.

While the lopsided victory may have soured the game for Muir fans, both team’s supporters, while regulated in attendance, danced and cheered through the contest and local leaders waxed poetic on the return of the contest to the Rose Bowl.

“It’s so amazing when you realize that some of the greatest athletes in the world have played on this very field,” said Pasadena Councilmember Tyron Hampton.

Mayor Victor Gordo recalled his playing days for the Bulldogs with Coach Washington, who was still on the sidelines exhorting his players.

Councilmember Steve Madison also quashed rumors that the game may soon leave the historic venue.

“I can assure you that will not happen,” he said. Madison, who sits on the Board of the Rose Bowl Operating Company as well as the City Council, added, “Both bodies are very, very proud of this game and what it means to the community and to our history.”