BOSTON – It was a game for the ages. In the 44th edition of the Island Cup, with a packed crowd lining the stands at the historic Fenway Park on Tuesday evening, the Vineyarders lost in a rollercoaster of a battle to the Nantucket Whalers with a final score of 22-14
The Vineyard had stormed back from an early deficit, tying the game in the fourth quarter at 14-14 after a gutsy two-point conversion. The Vineyarders had victory in their grasp near the end of regulation but just narrowly missed a field goal that would have brought the Cup back to the Island.
In overtime, Nantucket came out on top with a touchdown and a two-point conversion. The Vineyarders had a chance to tie and extend the game, but they couldn’t convert inside the ten-yard line.
With the victory, Nantucket has knotted up the all-time Island Cup rivalry at 22-22 in its 44-year, storied history, and the coveted trophy is headed back to Nantucket after two years in the halls of Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.
“We showed a lot of resilience,” head coach Tony Mottola said in the shadow of the Green Monster on Tuesday evening. “We came back pretty well but it came down to executing a couple plays there at the end and that made a huge difference in the overtime.
“I feel like we are going to continue getting better as a program,” Mottola added. “We wish we could’ve led the seniors out a little better but it is what it is. Nantucket has the cup on loan for a little under a year and then we go right back after it again.”
It was a long day of travel and drama for both teams leading up to kickoff. When the Vineyarders arrived in Boston they entered the high church of baseball with a sense of awe and maybe some sense of destiny, as it was clear whoever won this game would have bragging rights for many years to come.
Come late afternoon, all eyes were looking upward at the rain and many were wondering if the game would actually start on time. But then the legendary grounds crew of Fenway began rolling back the tarps, and the rains cleared just before 5 pm. The sunset over Boston cast Fenway in a beautiful rose-colored light. And the game was on.
Nantucket won the coin toss and decided to kick off. The ball flew right into the arms of the Vineyard’s Jordan Souza (No. 26) who was stopped at the 25 yard line.
The first Vineyard play of the night was a good one. Grady McCracken (No. 2), catching a short pass from quarterback William Nicholson (No. 10), streaked down field for a 30 yard gain. But the Vineyarders were forced to punt after struggling to get another first down.
Nantucket took over offensive possession at their own 15 yard line, marching downfield slowly and after getting stuffed repeatedly at the Vineyard 10-yard line, the Whalers were able to power through the defensive and over the goal line for the first touchdown of the night. The first quarter ended 7-0 in favor of the Whalers.
For the rest of the first half, Nantucket’s defense was solid and the Vineyard offense struggled to find their groove, and back peddled with penalties and costly turnovers.
The Vineyard kicked off to start the second half and Nantucket responded with a run to the 49-yard line where they met with a stalwart Vineyard defense.
Getting the ball back, the Vineyard’s offense struck on their first drive of the quarter and a big play had them right back in the game. But it wasn’t to be. Guillerme Oliveira (No.1) broke free from the Nantucket defense and carried the ball 80 yards down field and into the endzone. But the referees brought it back to midfield, indicating that a sliver of Oliveira’s foot was out of bounds.
Stunted at midfield, the Vineyard was forced to punt to the Whalers and Nantucket was again battling their way downfield.
For the remainder of regulation time, defense dominated on both sides, and the majority of the battle took place in the center of the field between each teams’ 30 yard line.
But it was a QB sneak by Nicholson (No. 10) that finally broke the stalemate. The Vineyard quarterback burst up the middle from the 10 yard line and took a hit before falling into the endzone to secure the Vineyard’s first touchdown of the night.
The momentum swung back to Nantucket, though, when the extra-point kick was shanked, and with 2 minutes left in the third quarter, the Whalers still led, 7-6.
And just before the end of the quarter, from the Vineyard 45-yard line, Nantucket quarterback Burke Lombardi (No. 7) hurled a 40-yard bomb perfectly over the shoulder and into the bread basket of a fast-moving Kareem Maxwell (No. 4) who ran it into the endzone. The kick was good again and the score to end the third quarter was 14-6 in favor of the Whalers.
The fourth quarter came around and desperation began to set in on the Vineyard’s offense. Some gutsy play calling and heroics from the Vineyarders on a number of fourth downs kept the boys in purple marching down field.
But it wasn’t until a 30-yard pass up the middle from Nicholson to an open and moving Josh Salop (No. 22) — bringing the Vineyard to the Whalers 4-yard line — that Nantucket and their fans would first sense they were in danger of losing this game.
Tension between fans and the two teams was palpable as Vineyard star Oliveira broke through a Whaler defense on a decisive snap, coasting into the end zone for the Vineyards second touchdown of the night.
The crowd roared again as Oliveira stepped back into the quarterback role for the two point conversion where he orchestrated a last second decision, appearing ready to run the ball himself, but instead, he halted at the line of scrimmage and lofted a perfect pass over the purple and blue scrum and into the arms of Syius Rivera (No. 44), tying the game at 14-14 with 7 minutes left.
Nantucket returned the Vineyard kick to the 45 yard line but the Vineyard defense showed up again, holding Nantucket at the 45 and forcing the Whalers to punt with just 6 minutes left.
A detrimental penalty on a delayed hit by a Nantucket defender gave the Vineyard 15 yards, putting them on the Nantucket 35. Following a series of quick downs and facing significant yardage required for a first, McCracken laid out and hauled in a low missile from Nicholson, securing the first down and bringing the Vineyarders to the 25 yard line.
With 39 seconds left on the clock, the Vineyarders found themselves on the 25 yard line on third down and 11 yards to go. Nantucket called time out. The crowd was on their feet.
Out of the huddle, Nicholson connected on a pass to Matthew MacMillan (No. 17) bringing them to the 13-yard line. The Vineyard faithful erupted. After a run took them within 9-yards of the goal line with two seconds left to play, the Vineyarders lined up for a 13-yard field goal that could send them home with the Cup. With no time left on the clock, the ball sailed just to the right goal post. The game was headed to overtime.
Under high school rules, each team received the ball on the 10-yard line and were each given a chance to put it in the end zone. After the coin toss, Nantucket scored a touchdown and, to add more pressure on the Vineyard offense, they also secured a two point conversion.
The Vineyarders took the ball on the 10-yard line to try and extend the game. After failing to get past the five yard line, McCracken took the ball on a run finding the end zone on the far left side. But the play was called back to the 16 on what the referees called a “block the back.” On a reception from MacMillan, the Vineyarders were able to bring the ball back to the 5 yard line. On fourth down, Nicholson scrambled out of the pocket on the right side and tossed a pass into the end zone just out of reach of his target.
The Whaler faithful erupted. The Standells “Dirty Water” kicked in on the sound system, and Nantucket swarmed the field.
Despite the loss, Vineyard coaches were glad their players could take in the Fenway experience.
“It’s amazing to be able to play in such a historical ballpark. It takes this program in really a great, great direction,” said coach Motolla. “Just being in the dugout of this big stadium, with all the lights on us, and the history of that stadium, it’s just an amazing opportunity.”
A replay of the full game is available here.
