With many of the fall sports concluding last week, there was much space left for the remaining two teams to shine. Boys’ soccer kicked off the week by defeating Old Rochester in the quarterfinal round of the MIAA playoffs on Thursday, followed by the football team defeating Case on the road Friday. The soccer team bookended the week by defeating Medway in double overtime at Taunton High School in the south section semifinal game on Veterans Day.

One of the only two teams left standing for MVRHS fall sports, the football team hit the road to face off against Case in interleague play. The Vineyarders played their hearts out in the seniors’ last away game with a 28-0 shutout victory over the cardinals. The scoring was well dispersed with four different Vineyarders scoring touchdowns. Jacob Cardoza scored on a sweep from the one yard line in the first quarter to start the onslaught; James Sashin scored next with an eight-yard pass from Mike Mussell in the second, and in the fourth quarter, Ben Clarke and David Macias both rumbled into the end zone on two and 14-yard runs respectively. The game was not without its miscues from the Vineyard, as four different players had fumbles lost in the first half. “By the end it could have easily been 35-0,” said coach Donald Herman. “It was a good thing our defense held together the way it did,” he added. The defense played extremely well with tackles being evenly distributed throughout the whole team. “We played team defense, it wasn’t like it was Austin [Chandler] or David [Macias] getting all the tackles, we spread the wealth,” said senior captain Liam Smith.

Sophomore Ennis Foster and junior Austin Chandler both had interceptions on the day, and both turnovers led to scores. “Our secondary played amazing especially with the suspensions we had — I tip my hat to Paul Mayhew and Mikey Mussell who filled in the gaps for us,” said Coach Herman. Player of the game honors go to Mike Mussell who rushed for 118 yards and passed for 124 and a touchdown. The Vineyard plays again this Friday at home against Bellingham and then renew their rivalry with Nantucket at home on the Nov. 22.

The boys’ soccer team gave the Vineyard two victories this week in the MIAA over Old Rochester and Medway. The Vineyard beat Old Rochester on Thursday 4-1 in a downpour that turned the field to mud. Jason Lages had a hat trick and Brandon Dwane kicked in a goal for good measure. “They were a very good team, but I just think we were a lot more talented and skilled,” said Dwane, a senior. The real test came at Taunton High School on Veterans Day as the Vineyard faced off against Medway, the number one seed and the team that had knocked them out of the playoffs last year. The Vineyard came out on top with a goal scored by Alex GordonBeck with 30 seconds left in double overtime. “It was amazing, a great feeling for us to get this victory,” said head coach Esteban Aranzabe. Dwane also added the game’s first goal, which Medway later matched. “It was great to know that they were resilient and knew that the game was not over,” said Coach Aranzabe. Jason Lages played distributor this time around, a change from his normal goal-scoring ways, as he assisted on both goals for the Vineyard. “We gave them the tools to succeed and they succeeded, that is everything that you can ask from your players,” said Coach Aranzabe. The Vineyarders will face Norwell in the south final on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. “We have taught them everything that they know, they have hit a groove, I have given them the tools, it is up to them to use them against Norwell,” the coach said.

With fall sports winding down, make sure to stay up to date with the latest playoff scores and read along next week for more news.