Things are not good in the Vineyarder football neighborhood, as the Purple fell to 0-3 Friday night after a 28-0 loss to the Sandwich Blue Knights in a Cape & Islands League matchup.
Coach Donald Herman was blessed with a high turnout of players this year, but the offensive output hasn’t been there to date. “It’s difficult to be successful when your opponent runs almost twice as many offensive plays as your offense does,” Herman opined after the Sandwich game.
Indeed, year to date, the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) gridders have been outscored 63-7. Hopes were high following a gem of a game last week in which the Vineyarders lost 8-6 in overtime, in a brilliant defensive effort.
But the O couldn’t get going on Friday, fumbling on its own two-yard line, leading to the first Blue Knights score.
“Give Sandwich (2-1) credit, they are a good team, and they did what they wanted, but our big problem is the offense was nonexistent,” Herman said. “We were physically overmatched up front. But everyone gets a piece of this pie, players and coaches.
“We’re playing uninspired, unmotivated, confused football. As coaches, we have to be more demanding, we have to teach better, and maybe simplify things. There are things we can do, and we have skill players who need to get space to perform,” he said.
To be fair, the Vineyarders were playing without three impact starters (T.J. Lett, Gabe Brito, and Luke Nascimento), and Herman credited Harper Hearn (11 tackles) and Kaio Pereira (first-year player) for defensive performance.
“Yeah, Harper is picking up where his brother (Hoffman, a 2020 MVRHS grad) left off, and Kaio is picking things up quickly. He spent time in the weight room, and it’s clearly helped him,” Herman said.
On the bright side, the Vineyarders will have their starters back on Friday at 5:30 pm at Dan McCarthy Field in Oak Bluffs, when winless Sharon High School (0-3) comes to visit.