It’s likely that some Jim Thorpe Area High School students passed on pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving.

About a dozen students and a few teachers got more than their fill on Wednesday during the school’s annual pie eating contest.

“Before break, we want everyone to wind down and relax. It’s a fun thing we do every year,” said Will Schwartz, Jim Thorpe high school student council president.

Each year, students face off to see who is the school’s biggest eater. For Wednesday’s contest, they raced to see who could eat a 10-inch pie. The fastest finishers then faced off to eat a can of cranberry sauce.

With their classmates cheering and music pumping through the high school auditorium, 15 students faced off for bragging rights. For the second straight year, it came down to senior Kendall Herron and teacher Ben Warren.

Usually only the champion gets a chance to return to the competition the following year, but Herron wanted a chance to challenge his teacher one more time.

“I told myself last year after doing it that I’d never do it again, but I knew I had to challenge Mr. Warren,” Herron said.

Warren said he doesn’t enjoy the contest, but the students want him to return year after year because of his reputation as a big eater.

“I’ll do anything for the kids. But it’s not the most fun,” he said.

In the end, Herron’s upset bid came up short. He had just a few bites of cranberry sauce remaining.

Herron gave respect to his competitor, but said he still believes that he’s the bigger eater. Following the contest, he said he was questioning his decision to return for a second year, but knew it would be a lasting memory.

“I’m not going to regret doing it later, but I regret doing it right now. It’ll be a memory that all of the seniors will remember,” he said.