A sold out ferry boat filled with Vineyard fans embarked early this morning for Nantucket. But the early excitement of the Island Cup football rivalry quickly vanished for the Vineyarders as a strong Nantucket team struck first and then kept scoring and scoring.
Final score: Nantucket 48, Vineyard 7.
The game began with a moment of silence for legendary Nantucket coach Vito Capizzo, who led the team for 45 seasons. Coach Capizzo died this past May, and as a tribute the Vineyard players wore his initials on their helmets.
But once the game started Nantucket was silent no more.
The Whalers put their first points on the board with a safety after an errant Vineyard snap sailed into the endzone. This was followed up soon after by a touchdown when Nantucket receiver Torane Burton caught a nine-yard pass from quarterback Malique Bodden in the back right corner of the end zone to put the score at 9-0.
And the damage wasn’t done. Victor Gamberoni ran one in from midfield to put the score at 16-0, and then he scored another touchdown to make it 23-0.
And that was just the first quarter.
As the clouds rolled in and the wind picked up during the second quarter the Nantucket scoring machine slowed down a bit. Just one more touchdown was added to the lead when Cameron Bartlett cought a six-yard pass to put Nantucket up 29-0 as the teams headed into the locker room for halftime.
Out in the stands the Vineyard fans remained positive or at least cheerful. “We may not be winning the game but we are winning the fan battle,” said senior Sam Cranston.
Piper Murphy, mom to cheerleader Mary Crandall, agreed. “I’m still excited to be here,” she said. “I love the spirit on both sides.”
The Whalers continued their dominance in the second half adding another touchdown in the third quareter with a six-yard shuffle pass to Victor Gamberoni for his third touchdown of the game.
In the fourth quarter Nantucket’s Luke Brucher caught another touchdown pass to put the score at 42-0. And as time ran down a shutout looked imminent. But Vineyard freshman Jayden Coyle decided not to go quietly, turning in a huge kickoff return down to the Nantucket four yard line. Quarterback Ivan Shepard teamed up with Brayden Sales with a touchdown pass to finally put the Vineyad on the board.
Nantucket refused to let up, though, and on the ensuing kick off Nanucket's Cameron Bartlett ran the ball all the way into the endzone for the final touchdown of the day.
Nantucket retains the Island Cup by beating the Vineyard 48-7.
For returning Coach Don Herman it was a tough day, but a day of coaching football will always beat watching from the sidelines. "It's a good day," he said. "Rivalry is rivalry. They're riding high and we're low, but hopefully soon we'll level the playing field."
He added: "The only way to turn it around next year is to get stronger."
As the team boarded the ferry home they were loudly applauded by family and friends, including Judy Murray, mother of player James Murray. "The kids should be proud," she said. "Last year we didn't even have a game. We had a fairly young team this year. I think they'll be a good team next year."
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