Members of the team of ’88 recall the Island Cup

In 1988, Martha’s Vineyard got a new coach, who would leave his mark on the storied rivalry over the next 28 years.

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The headline on the front page of The Martha's Vineyard Times published Nov. 22, 1989, tells the story. — Martha's Vineyard Times File Pho

The Island Cup story, now in its 37th edition, has had a variety of subplots, nuances, and changes since its inception in 1978. Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School and Nantucket High School have had long runs of success in the annual competition, an end-of-season game that has drawn national attention from media fascinated by two high schools that take boats to play football.

From a Vineyard perspective, the enduring thread over the past 28 years has been the presence of Head Coach Don Herman, credited for rejuvenating Island high school football following his arrival in fall 1988.

The Vineyard, playing on Nantucket, lost the 1988 game 14-0. The next year, playing at home in 1989, the Vineyard beat Nantucket, 26-14, the first of many Island Cup victories to follow.

Several players from the 1988 team spoke to The Times this week about their former coach and their 1989 victory over Nantucket.

Todd Araujo is an assistant district attorney for the state of Alaska in Juneau. Louis Paciello owns the Depot Market and gas station on Main Street in Edgartown, and Chris Dolby is a lieutenant and detective with the Edgartown Police Department, where he is second in command.

Their names sprinkle the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School football record books. None of them referenced their records in conversation. They share none of the angst of Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom, the main character in John Updike’s novel “Rabbit, Run,” about a former high school star struggling with life after football.

All three said that Coach Herman helped to prepare them for the success they now enjoy, a result of his “football as life” approach to coaching and mentoring. They described what winning the Island Cup felt like after a long dry spell, and they see those wins as an extension of their learning process under Coach Herman.

‘Lowest level’

“Before he arrived, football on the Island was at about the lowest level in the state of Massachusetts,” Mr. Paciello said. “He skyrocketed the program. Discipline, organization, and commitment were the keys. He brought that to the team. His organizational skills are unparalleled. He goes 100 percent all the time; nothing much changes.

“We really didn’t prepare differently for Nantucket. When he came here from Georgia, he asked us to write down our goals, and I bet 90 percent of the guys wrote ‘Beat Nantucket.’ He said the goal was to beat everybody. But you know, intensity gets higher at the end of the year, and I still remember how great it felt to finally win against Nantucket under Coach Herman.

“He made you accountable for your actions, a message that young men need to hear. He believes coaches should teach in the same building their players are in. He won’t coach without teaching. He said, ‘You’ve got to be in the building.’ He wants to know what’s going on in his players’ lives. A lot of guys needed attention and supervision, and teaching allowed him to provide that. Times have changed in terms of school-permitted discipline, but he still has the same intensity he brought to us 28 years ago.

“No one wants him to retire. But he is. He’s going out on top.”

Liked him ‘right away’

“In 1988, I was on the MVRHS student council and the football team,” Chris Dolby said. “As a student representative, I was asked, with Todd Araujo, to be on the interview board when Coach Herman applied for the job. I remember liking him right away, and felt that he was just what we needed at the time.

“I played for Coach Herman for two years. Looking back, that was a very special time in my life. The 1989 team was the best I’ve ever been a part of in all high school and college sports, and the home win over Nantucket in 1989 was my favorite win.

“Coach Herman put us on the map, got significant parent involvement [Touchdown Club began], and really got school and community support.

He has made a great impact on our community over the years. I thank Coach Herman and football for many life lessons taught.

‘Demanding and fair’

“In 1988, Chris Dolby and I were part of the selection process as players,” Todd Araujo said. “We had two strong candidates, but we were impressed with Coach Herman’s preparation, philosophy, and his track record. Now, 28 years later, it’s still one of the best affirmative votes I’ve ever cast. He was a demanding, honest, and fair coach. We don’t have regular contact, but I run into him at Gio’s or on South Beach, and while it’s like old friends, it’s hard to shed that coach/teacher role. I don’t go back to being 17 again, but there is the same measure of reverence.

“Coach Herman does not have a get-rich-quick job. It requires a commitment and a love of young men and women. I think you take pieces of people you meet with you. I coach youth football now, and if Coach Herman were standing behind me, he would recognize a lot of the words I say to my kids.”