Vineyard Football is fighting for victory in the premier league

The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School varsity football team picked up its first league victory with a hard-fought 33-14 victory over the Monomoy Regional High School Sharks on Friday night at the island’s McCarthy Stadium.

The Vineyard had to overcome a halftime deficit, but the defense made some big stops and the offense capitalized on some mistakes from Monomoy.

The win puts the Vineyarders at 4-3-1 this season.

There was a good crowd at the USA themed game on Friday evening. Fans were encouraged to wear red, white and blue; Both active and retired veterans and first responders were honored and welcomed to the Vineyard team’s courtside before kickoff.

The game began with a strong defensive stance on Monomoy’s first possession that set the tone for the game. The Vineyarders then led a confident march down the field, and on a first-and-goal, Guillerme Oliveira (No. 1) ran the ball into the end zone for the first touchdown of the game.

The Vineyard defense kept the pressure on, blocking three straight Monomoy passes, but the energy changed when Jordan Souza (No. 26) was sent off for a targeting foul after a hard hit on a Monomoy receiver. The player would be taken off the field in an ambulance (It was announced later in the game that “he was fine and his parents were grateful for the Islands’ support.”)

Monomoy continued to exploit the changed dynamic. With eight minutes left in the second quarter, the Sharks scored a touchdown and an extra point to tie the game 7-7. Shortly afterwards, Monomoy followed with a touchdown to make it 14:7.

Shortly before halftime, on the Vineyard’s last drive of the second quarter, Monomoy intercepted a pass and sent the Vineyard boys back to the locker room.

After the cheerleading and dance teams looked forward to the halftime performances, the Vineyard boys came out energized and eager to overcome the seven-point deficit.

Three minutes before the end of the third quarter, quarterback William Nicholson (No. 10) rushed the ball for the first touchdown of the half, while Victor DeSouza (No. 70) successfully hit the extra point and tied the game at 14:14.

Moments later, Caio Guimaraes (No. 33) intercepted a pass from Monomoy for a game-winning play with 40 seconds left in the third period. Early in the fourth quarter, the Vineyard wasted no time quickly scoring from Monomoy’s 20-yard line to take a 20-14 lead.

Shortly thereafter, Mathew Macmillen (No. 17) ran the ball in and extended the lead to 26-14 before Oliveira broke away for a 44-yard touchdown run to make the game 33-14 with two minutes left. DeSouza’s extra point was good and the Vineyard team celebrated at midfield after the final whistle.

“In the first half we were just really sloppy and had trouble finding a rhythm, but at halftime we challenged the kids a little bit,” head coach Tony Mottola said. “We knew we could play a lot better and the kids responded. They came out and wanted to play really aggressively for 24 minutes and I’m proud of them for being able to respond like that.”

The players were also happy about their first league win.

“It was a hard but great week of training. We came into the league with enough effort to get our first win and we did it with full energy,” said running back Oliveira.

“I think we showed a lot of resilience coming back and held them scoreless in the second half,” quarterback Nicholson said.

Mottola was also honored to have the veterans represented at Friday’s game.

“We’re not doing enough for these people and we wish we could have done more,” he said. “Helping them and recognizing them is something they should have every day and I’m proud of our kids and glad we had a good crowd.”

With two games remaining in the football season, the boys soccer team is preparing to play Saint John Paul II High School on Thursday, October 31st. The coveted Island Cup against the Nantucket Whalers will take place on November 26th at Fenway Park.

Next week is Spirit Week for the islands’ sports teams, and the weekend brings homecoming. Boys varsity soccer plays Barnstable High School on the McCarthy Stadium field on Monday at 3 p.m. and Nantucket on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 3 p.m. The girls varsity soccer team also has two home games this week: Wednesday at 3 p.m. after print against Monomoy High School and Saturday at 1 p.m. against Nantucket.