The Island Cup and Golden Anchor trophies will be up for grabs this weekend during the annual Battle in the Atlantic.
Originally a clash between the two football teams, the tradition has grown in recent years and on Saturday, the football, field hockey and soccer teams will all take the ferry over to Nantucket to compete in the inter-Island rivalry.
And they won’t be alone. The fan ferry leaves at 7:30 a.m. from Vineyard Haven on Saturday and returns at around 6 p.m. from Nantucket.
“We’ve got about 700 people going over to the game and it’s just an exciting day when you have everybody playing on the same day,” said Mark McCarthy, the regional high school’s athletic director.
Last year the varsity football team was not able to field a team, so just being able to suit up has been a win this year under new head coach Zeke Vought. The team has been struggling this year to make everything click, they are currently 1-4, but Mr. Vought said he is proud of the work the team has put in this season.
“We’re young,” said Coach Vought. “If the [team] comes in believing they can pull it off, then they will.”
“I think that we have enough talent and I think it’s going to come down to mindset,” he added. “Who’s going to want it more?”
Up and coming sophomore quarterback Adam Parchment will be leading the team on Saturday alongside seniors Matthew Macmillan, a slotback and safety, and Griffin Buehler, a tight end and defensive end.
Both soccer teams are looking to defend their Golden Anchor trophies after a decisive win last year by the girls team and a close victory by the boys team, decided on penalty kicks.
“It’s something that they should be proud of because they played a hell of a game last year,” said boys head coach Rodrigo Honorato, who had the Golden Anchor trophy placed on the sideline during their 6-0 win against Cape Cod Regional High School on Monday. “We’re 10th in the state, so this team is very proud of each other and I’m proud of them. The hard work is paying off.”
It was a busy week for the boys team as they look to not only beat Nantucket but to also win the league championship. They are currently 9-2-4.
“We still can win the league if we go undefeated in these next four games,” said sophomore Moses Thomson, a center defensive midfielder on the boys soccer team. “So we’re focusing on staying healthy and treating every game like a playoff game.”
On Wednesday the team beat Falmouth High School. After Nantucket, they play Sandwich and Nauset next week.
“We’re trying to take it one game at a time,” said Coach Honorato. “All of them are league games. All of them are very important and they’re all tough teams to play.”
The girls team is currently 8-7, after a loss on Wednesday to Falmouth, but looks to have a strong showing on Saturday. Seniors Leah Thomson, Maple Martone and Ava Townes said they plan to come out hungry to repeat last year’s victory.
“We’ve always been strong as a team with little technical things, like passing and shooting, and our team chemistry has always been really strong,” said Ms. Townes. “I see when we play other teams they may argue or whatever, but we’ve never been a team like that. We always come and we talk to each other about what we need to fix, what is working, what isn’t working and I feel that’s definitely been a thing since we were freshmen.”
The team is disappointed, however, that their game will take place at a remote location approximately two miles away from the main venue where the rest of the teams will play.
“Nantucket has the right to pick the venue that fits them,” said head coach Matthew Malowski. “I totally respect that and I get that but, I’m disappointed because it does kind of take away from that whole day of the Battle of the Atlantic where everyone is together and supporting one another. Win or lose, you’ve got your fans there to cheer you on and hug you when you win, and you got your fans all there to console you when you lose. I’m a little disappointed that part has been kind of tampered with.”
The varsity field hockey team holds an 8-7-1 record on the season and is looking to do well in the league. At practice earlier this week, head coach Liane Dixon said the team is focused on every remaining game, not just the Nantucket rivalry. Coach Dixon and the rest of her coaching staff agreed that maintaining energy will be key.
“We’ve been working on trying to keep things flowing and keeping things at a decent momentum,” she said.
Ferry tickets are still on sale for Saturday’s 7:30 a.m. crossing. Game times on the sister island are: girls soccer at 11:15 a.m., field hockey at 1 p.m., boys soccer at 1:30 p.m. and the Island Cup football game kicking off at 3 p.m.