One More Time, Fellows: The Vineyarders Play in Championship Match
Tomorrow
By ALEXIS TONTI
For the fourth time in five years, Vineyard football is set to play
for the state title. After defeating East Boston 17-12 in this
week's playoff contest, the Vineyarders now will face Manchester
Essex in Saturday's Division VI Super Bowl.
SRC="/features/content/sports/images/jd_wild_sm.jpg"Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Chelsea High School.
The Super Bowl forecast calls for snow and high winds, a drawback
for the Hornets (10-1), whose strength lies in a high-powered aerial
attack.
"Their quarterback has thrown for 28 touchdown passes this
year and they are a prolific passing team, more so than
Nantucket," said Vineyard coach Donald Herman. "But sizewise
we have a distinct advantage."
The Vineyarders (11-1) also have the edge on defense. With an
average of 6.91 points allowed per game, they rate as one of the top
five defenses in eastern Massachusetts. And lately they have come up
with the big plays when they needed it most: interceptions, blocked
punts and, on Tuesday, a goal-line stand that earned them their Super
Bowl berth.
It was the final minute of the Division VI playoff game against East
Boston, and the Vineyarders had held the Jets to within four yards of
the end zone, bringing up fourth-and-one.
In the decisive play of the game, Vineyard cornerback Seth Coleman
batted down an Eastie pass into the end zone. The Vineyarders got the
ball back with 16 seconds remaining. A quick kneel ended the game.
SRC="/features/content/sports/images/huddle_sm.jpg" The Vineyarders came into Tuesday's game with more than a
week's rest. They last played Nov. 22, when they took back the
Island Cup and clinched the Mayflower Large League title with a 20-7 win
over Nantucket.
East Boston (11-0) had earned its playoff spot by defeating South
Boston 36-16 in a Thanksgiving Day game. Offensively the teams were a
near even match, with the Vineyard averaging almost 28 points per game
and East Boston almost 31.
The contest took place at Satori Stadium in East Boston, the
Jets' home field. (It had originally been scheduled for White
Stadium, but Jets coach John Sousa had the venue changed.)
The turf already was spotted with snow patches by the time the game
began. With the wind chill factor (steady at 25 miles per hour with
arctic gusts), the temperature hovered around zero.
But the numbing conditions put off neither the team
("We've seen stronger winds here," said Coach Herman)
nor the fans. A slew of Islanders hollered their way through four
quarters of football; the aluminum bleachers rattled with feet stamping,
as much to keep warm as to cheer. One Vineyard fan bus got lost en route
(local exit 24 apparently was sacrificed to the Big Dig) but -
when it finally arrived - brought with it a burst of enthusiasm
that spread through the stands.
East Boston won the coin toss and deferred its option to the second
half. The Vineyarders took the ball but would spend the first quarter
driving into a windy wall.
Not that it mattered. Running back J.D. Wild received the opening
kickoff, then tore up the middle 81 yards for a touchdown. E.J.
Sylvia's extra point put the Vineyard up 7-0.
East Boston came up empty on its first possession. On fourth down
their punter lost the ball off a bad snap and recovered, only to be
tackled on the Eastie 24 yard line. And so the Vineyard opened its
second drive deep in Jets territory.
SRC="/features/content/sports/images/hans_buder_sm.jpg" The Vineyarders ran for short gains, and Kyle Robertson powered in
from the one yard line. Another extra point, and the Vineyard was up
14-0.
It was then that the Vineyarders first saw the player who would
haunt them throughout the game. Julius Williams took a pitch, swept wide
right and ran 62 yards for a touchdown. The Jets' two-point
conversion failed, and the score was 14-6 with 3:15 to play in the first
quarter.
The Vineyard's next drive (highlighted by John Valley's
16-yard run) carried into the second quarter. The offense pushed to the
East Boston 20 before bringing Sylvia out for a field goal attempt. The
37-yard kick banged off the left upright. But Sylvia would not be denied
for long.
The Vineyard took over again in the waning moments of the half (in a
key fourth-down play, defenseman Dan Defoe had tackled the Jets ball
carrier in Vineyard territory). In 31 seconds of explosive football,
Wild ran for 34 yards; quarterback Hans Buder threw to Valley for
another 20, and Sylvia capped off the drive with a solid 32-yard kick.
Halftime, 17-6.
At that point, Coach Herman said afterward, the team still
underestimated East Boston a little. But not for long.
In the opening minutes of the third quarter, the Jets carrier
Williams ran 39 yards for his second touchdown. Another failed two-point
conversion, and the score was 12-17.
"Mayor Menino gave them a pep talk at halftime, and they came
out very fired up for the third quarter," Coach Herman said.
"For us it was like Nantucket: We had the wind with us in the
fourth quarter if we needed it; we just had to survive the third."
SRC="/features/content/sports/images/happy_fans_sm.jpg" The teams battled into the fourth quarter. At 6:26 the Jets took
over on downs at their own 40. Their drive, marked by short gains and a
willingness to risk the fourth down, would consume the rest of the half.
"We had plenty of opportunities to make tackles for negative
yardage, but we missed them," Coach Herman said. "There were
two or three plays where missed tackles resulted in positive yardage for
East Boston, and that almost came back to haunt us."
Almost.
With 1:15 on the clock, the Jets were first and 10 on the
Vineyard's 13 yard line. A Williams run was stopped before it even
started.
A minute left, second down. On a quarterback keeper, Jet Aaron
Flythe pushed forward for seven yards.
Forty-nine seconds to go, third-and-three, and Eastie took a time
out. "We had them right where we wanted them," Coach Herman
said. "I asked [my players] how many of them watched the Patriots
on Sunday. I said, ‘The Patriots held the Colts, and we have the
opportunity to do the exact same thing. More importantly, we have to do
it.'"
The teams lined up. Flythe handed off to Williams, who took it two
yards to the four.
Twenty seconds remained in the game. With no time outs left, facing
fourth and one, East Boston lined up. Flythe threw for the end zone and,
in the most beautiful play of the game, Coleman batted down the pass.
SRC="/features/content/sports/images/zach_sweeney_sm.jpg"Next stop: Super Bowl.
The Vineyard last won a state final in 1999, when they defeated East
Boston. But this year's seniors were in eighth grade then, and
Saturday marks their last chance to capture a title. "The state
championship is the dream of every high school athlete," said Karl
Buder, a varsity coach and father of the Vineyard quarterback.
Mr. Buder recalled the championship games in 2000 and 2001:
"They were good preparation. The players know the pain, the angst,
the long boat ride home. To see how hard these guys have worked and how
well they're doing - to see these guys with their chemistry,
it's just rewarding to see it all pay off."
Ginger Duarte and C.K. Wolfson also contributed to this story.
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