Sports Highlights
By Don Lyons - November 17, 2005
MV dart league
Thursday, Nov. 3, Ray Blanchette, Wayne George, Mike Lipinsky, and Charlene Barbosa took home the money after defeating Mike Dow, Mat Hubert, Linda Wood, and substitute Robert O' Sullivan in a playoff. Both teams won their opening matches, 6-5.
The Blanchette side's fortunes changed last Thursday as they came up short in another playoff against Kurt Tesch, James Rowell, Peter Searle, and Brenda Denham. The teams started off the evening with convincing 8-3 victories.
Tom Norton hit a ton-80 and Wayne George hit a Round of Nine.
Ray Blanchette's squad leads the standings with 49 points, followed by the Wes Wood Quartet with 47, Kurt Tesch's tossers with 45, and Tom Norton's team with 35.
MV dismantles BP
Fresh off their best game of the season against Cape Tech, the Vineyarders upped the ante and played even better against Bristol-Plymouth on Saturday in Taunton. Once again, the Vineyard defense was awesome, rendering B-P running threats Jeremie Chumack and Rick Copeland moot, en route to a 34-6 thumping.
The first quarter was a defensive stalemate. In fact, neither team managed a first down. BP actually went backwards on their third possession and were forced to punt from their own 16. John Swan fielded the ball at the BP 46 and bolted in for the opening TD. EJ Sylvia added the PAT for a 7-0 lead.
In the funny way that sports works, the Vineyarders went over four years without a punt return for a score and in back-to-back weeks the same player did it twice from almost identical distances.
Swan hurt the Craftsmen again on the next series, picking off a Tyler Gomes pass and returning to the BP 49. David Amabile (sometimes puzzlingly referred to as Dan by your humble sports editor) took the next snap, broke through a Rick Copeland tackle, and rumbled 30 yards to the 19. From there, EJ Sylvia booted a 36-yard field goal to make it 10-0 early in quarter two.
The Craftsmen continued to have poor results and wretched field position. The half ended with another Sylvia field goal, this time from 29 yards out. Ryan Rossi connected with Mike Cecilio on a big 4th and 12 and later with Josh Paulsen to key the drive.
The second half would prove no better for BP as Rossi hooked up long distance with Matt Lucier for a 56-yard TD. Rossi followed that up with a two-point completion to Tristan Atwood to make it 21-0 MV.
The Vineyarders put the game well out of reach with Alan Fortes' 50-yard touchdown run. EJ Sylvia's kick hit the upright, but a 27-0 lead was more than enough.
The final Vineyard score was enabled by an excellent 35-yard EJ Sylvia punt that cramped the Craftsmen at their 2. Tyler Gomes tried a shovel pass that turned into a fumbled lateral in the end zone. Ryan Mussell recovered for the touchdown.
The Vineyard junior varsity, unfortunately, didn't fare nearly as well against BP, falling 26-0. The JV record stands at 4-3.
The 28th Island Cup awaits, then. The junior high and junior varsity games get underway at 10 am, Saturday, at MVRHS followed by the 59th meeting between Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket at 1 pm. The Whalers lead the series 35-20-3 and have 17 cup wins to MV's 10.
This year's contest will also be the last league meeting between the archrivals for at least two seasons. The Mayflower League consists of a large and small class. The league announced Saturday that the Whalers will be competing in the Mayflower League Small conference in 2006 and 2007. That will put Nantucket in division 4. The Vineyarders compete in division 3A. Nantucket High School has the league's second smallest enrollment and has struggled mightily the past two seasons in the upper circuit. The Island Cup, of course, will remain, but now both teams have the chance to make the playoffs and take part in separate Super Bowls.
MV collegians honored
Natasha Snowdon, 2001 MVRHS graduate and Ithaca College senior, was named the Empire 8 Player of the Year in field hockey for 2005. The honor is the first in school history. She was also Ithaca's representative on the Empire 8 Field Hockey Sportswoman of the Year team.
Natasha is a three-time conference first-team all-star, was a second-team all-star in 2003, and was the Empire 8 Rookie of the Year in 2002.
Ms. Snowdon started all 16 games for the Bombers this season, scoring a team-high 17 points (seven goals, three assists) and was the conference player of the week once. She finished her career with 85 points, eighth highest in Ithaca history. Her totals of 34 goals and 17 assists are both tied for ninth all-time.
Kelsey McDonald, a 2002 MVRHS graduate, made the All-Little East Conference Second Team in soccer at Plymouth State University.
Kelsey started all 17 matches at center-mid, scoring one goal and earning two assists.
Kelsey was selected to the All-LEC First Team and named Offensive Player of the Year in lacrosse last spring.
5K for KJ
A 5K cross-country run/walk to support the Kevin Johnson Cross Country Scholarship Fund will be held at the MVRHS track, Saturday, Nov. 26 at 11 am.
Registration is from 9:30 to 10:30 and the cost is $10 per person and $25 for families.
Please call 508-627-5218 for more information.
Junior high champs
The junior Vineyarders won their second Cape Cod League football title in three years by virtue of a 14-8 home victory over Mattacheese Middle School (Dennis-Yarmouth), Monday.
The win was the second in five days for MV, who also defeated Nauset 12-8 on Nov. 9. The Vineyarders head into the Saturday's clash with Nantucket (game time 10 am) with a 6-0-1 record.
Against Mattacheese, Eric Doliver scored from 15 yards out and added a two-pointer for an 8-0 MV lead. The final Vineyard TD was a 40-yard strike from QB Steve Handy to Josh Baker.
MV expected a good tussle with 4-0-2 Nauset and got one. But, it was the Vineyarders who left Dan McCarthy Field unbeaten.
With 30 seconds remaining and the Warriors up 8-6, Eric Doliver scored the winning TD from the six.
MV opened the scoring with another Steve Handy to Josh Baker 40-yard special.
Youth hockey heroics
Tyson Araujo scored the game-winning goal in triple overtime to complete a hat trick and lift the Vineyard Squirt A's to a thrilling 6-5 win over hosts Hetland in a state playdown game, Sunday.
Zolie Clarke also came up huge by stopping a rare penalty shot earlier in the final overtime.
Max Davies tallied twice and Shay Hill added the other MV goal.
At the MV Arena, Phoebe Kelleher scored twice and set up the winning goal from Maggie Johnson as the Vineyard under 14 girls won their first game of the season, 4-3, over the Cape Cod Waves.
Lily Gazaille, in only her fourth game on skates, put the biscuit in the basket, with help from Maggie Johnson and Olivia Cimeno. Taylor Chisholm was superb tending the twine. The girls travel to Walpole this weekend.
