Football returns to the Vineyard gridiron tomorrow at 1 p.m. as the Vineyarders take on St. Mary’s on their home turf.
The team is 0-1 after a 15-8 away loss last week to Old Rochester. Three fumbles and an interception in the final minutes of the fourth quarter contributed to the Bulldogs’ victory, but muscle cramps proved a more insidious foe for the Vineyarders, taking down several players throughout the course of the game.
The Vineyarders scored on a 69-yard, 11-play drive in the second, led by senior quarterback Delmont Araujo. Tyler Araujo completed the two-point conversion.
“The pressure’s off now to go undefeated,” head coach Don Herman said in an interview with the Gazette.
“Each year our schedule seems to get tougher and tougher, and this year is no exception,” he said. “It’s one of the more challenging non-league schedules we’ve ever had.”
In previous years, the coaching staff has been able to scan upcoming games and get a good sense for which will be wins, Coach Herman explained. But with the always-fierce competition within the Eastern Athletic Conference — beginning next week at home against Coyle-Cassidy — and non-league teams such as Pembrooke and D1 powerhouse Medford all on the docket, he concluded: “We can’t do that this year.”
St. Mary’s, this week’s rival, is coming off a 10-1 season that landed them just short of the playoffs.
Other non-league matchups include Assabet Voke, Case — a team the Vineyarders have never played before — and the always-anticipated Island Cup game against Nantucket at the end of the season.
Despite the loss of last year’s captains — Randall Jette, now playing at UMass-Amherst, Brian Montambault, playing at Framingham State, and Chris Costello, playing lacrosse at Keene State — a solid core of players returns from last year’s team. Senior captains are Delmont Araujo, Tyler Araujo, Michael Montanile, Max Morris and Conor Smith. The coaching staff also expects considerable contributions from returning seniors Spencer Booker, Ryan Fisher and Chris Parsons. JV players who have moved up in the ranks include Nick Costello and Brandon Watkins.
“It’s going to be quite a challenge for these guys,” said Coach Herman. And while the opposing teams present the obvious threat, the bigger challenge may be staving off injury. “Like anything, we’ve got to stay healthy,” he said.
Cross-Country
The Vineyarders hosted the fifth annual Vineyard Invitational last Saturday at home. EAC rival Bishop Feehan, one of 14 teams to participate in the Invitational, took both the boys’ and girls’ races. Paolo Tavares of New Bedford placed first for the boys with a time of 16:06, while Abigail Livingston of Barrington took the win in the girls’ race with a time of 19:45.
Junior Michael Schroeder was first to place for the boys’ team (17th overall) with a time of 17:32, with junior Kyle Joba-Woodruff not far behind in 19th place with a time of 17:58. Juniors Cooper Chapman (18:30), Job Deforrest (18:55) and Sam Oslyn (19:09) and senior Warren Gowell (19:37) rounded out the varsity runners.
On the girls’ side, junior Hannah Moore placed first with a time of 20:59, landing her in 13th place, while senior Shivonne Schofield ran a 21:00 for fourteenth. Sophomore Lily Neville turned in a 21st place finish with a time of 21:37; sister Julia, a freshman, had a time of 22:26. Senior Shelby Ferry posted a time of 24:28, sophomore Lucy Norris was 24:30 and senior Maya Harcourt had a time of 25:41.
The team competed at Malden on Wednesday (scores unavailable at press time), and will return home for a dual meet against league opponent Bishop Stang at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Golf
The Vineyarders swept all three of their matches this week, defeating Chatham and Cape Cod Tech in match play on Monday and Wednesday, respectively, and taking down Somerset in medal play on Tuesday.
The team was 5-1 against Chatham, with junior Mike deBettencourt shooting the day’s low score of 38.
Tuesday’s match, played at home on the Farm Neck course, saw a 19-point victory (262-281) over the Blue Raiders. Junior Justin Smith shot a 42, with senior Chris Morris and sophomores Kat deBettencourt and Matt Marchand each shooting 43. Junior Mike Piland had a score of 45, while senior Cal Fiore shot a 46.
The team defeated Cape Cod Tech by a score of 48-6 on Wednesday.
The Vineyarders are now 4-1 on the season, and play their next match on Monday at Nauset before returning home for contests against Bishop Feehan on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. and Falmouth on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
Boys’ Soccer
The boys blanked their Dennis-Yarmouth opponents last Friday, scoring five unanswered goals. Junior captain Jack Roberts scored twice against the Dolphins, with junior Martin Aranzabe, and seniors John Oliveira and John Marcal also finding the back of the net. Marcal and junior Kyp Cooperrider each had an assist.
Coach Damon Burke described the shutout as “very promising,” noting that the team had taken note of coaching points following last week’s loss to Nauset.
The team traveled to Barnstable on Wednesday, taking a 3-1 loss and moving to a 2-2 record on the season.
The boys are off-Island for both of this week’s matches, taking on EAC opponents Bishop Stang on Saturday and Coyle-Cassidy on Tuesday.
Girls’ Soccer
Scores were unavailable at press time for yesterday’s game against Bishop Stang. The girls have two home games this week, taking on Wellesley at 4 p.m. tomorrow and Coyle-Cassidy on Monday at 3 p.m.
Field Hockey
The girls took a loss to Bishop Stang Tuesday, falling 3-0. Scores were unavailable for Thursday’s matchup again Somerset. The team plays Needham tomorrow at home at 10 a.m., and travels to West Bridgewater next Thursday.
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