The Island Cup is one of the most cherished sporting events on both Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. ESPN made a documentary about the rivalry, and the two teams went head to head at Fenway Park last year. This is why it came as such a shock to the majority of the Island community when the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) football team made the decision to cancel the game this year, along with the remainder of their season, on account of a lack of players due to injuries and disciplinary issues.
Head Coach Tony Mottola said it was a tremendously difficult decision to make, but that the safety of the players was the most important factor: “Announcing the decision to the players, I had every emotion. I was mad, frustrated, upset, disappointed. It was the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in over 20 years of head coaching. I love this senior class; they were my first class when I arrived on the Island when they were freshman.”
“I feel bad for them,” said freshman Matthew Ruley. “Like, I feel bad that some of the seniors didn’t get to play in their final Island Cup game.”
The Island community has expressed disappointment about the game’s cancellation, but no one took it harder than the players themselves.
Senior quarterback William Nicholson remembered playing on Nantucket his sophomore year. “I only played there once, but it was insane. We were walking onto the field and the ground was shaking walking by their student section — it was crazy,” he said.
The Island Cup has been a tradition for 46 years, and during that time it has served to bond the islands and their communities.
Horticulture teacher Kyle Crossland was the MVRHS quarterback in 2000. He reminisced about his time on the team, and compared it with now. “Nothing mattered except Nantucket. Back when I played, you could lose all your games, and the only thing that mattered would be the Nantucket game,” he said.
Former MVRHS Head Coach Donald Herman said, “It used to be the social event of the entire year. I’d get calls from California asking, ‘When’s the Island Cup?’ In 1991 there were 5,000 people here [on Martha’s Vineyard], 10 rows deep all the way around. It looked like a bowl.”
Conversations about the cancellation of the game have led to talk about the program’s dwindling numbers.
“When I played football my senior year, we had 100 players coming out for football. Now, I don’t think they’re anywhere near those types of numbers,” said Mr. Crossland.
The risk of injury has led parents in recent years to second-guess letting their kids play football. “When I was growing up, we all played Pop Warner,” said Mr. Crossland. “Now, I’d have to think hard about letting my own child play.”
Coach Mottola says he is wholeheartedly committed to getting better and stronger for next year’s season. “We can provide them everything they need to be successful, and then it will be up to them to take advantage of it,” he said.
The High School View is staffed and prepared entirely by students from the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, and published on their behalf by the Martha’s Vineyard Times, with generous assistance from sponsors.
