The Nantucket varsity football team is a formidable foe. When the Whalers come to the Island tomorrow, they bring with them the state’s best coach and a lead in wins for the Island competitive trophy. Nantucket leads the series 35-22-3 since the rivalry began in 1953.
Their weakness is that they aren’t defending the trophy. And they are behind the Vineyard in wins and losses this fall. This has been a tough year for the Whalers. They are 3-5.
In 1964, the Vineyarders recorded the first of three undefeated seasons in its history. Bob Tankard, Coach T as he is also known, remembers it well.
“Apponequet was the big game that year,” said Mr. Tankard, a halfback and defensive back on the 1964 team. “We had never beaten them and they were supposed to run over us. The game was played in a northeaster and it ended a 0-0 tie. We felt like we had won.
The Vineyard rolled over Nantucket Saturday in the annual Island Cup game by a final score of 48-6 in a contest that was easily decided by the second quarter and even more lopsided than the final score indicated.
With the win, the Vineyarders continued their recent string of dominance over the Whalers in the storied rivalry. They have won five straight Island Cups and eight out of the last nine.
Former Red Sox player Nomar Garciaparra could not bat without checking his batting gloves. Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics will not get on the floor without patting his hands in the rosin.
The pro athletes have their pre-game rituals and so too do the Vineyarders.
For members of the varsity football team and the cheerleading squad, the superstitions are sometimes hidden, oftentimes underneath the jerseys, helmets and uniforms, but they are there nonetheless.
The sounds of a bloody brawl direct me to the football field behind the regional high school where the junior varsity team is warming up for Saturday. Getting nearer, one cry stands out. “I want to see Balboni get killed!” I quicken my step, wondering whether I’m about to scoop an altogether more serious event.
Martha’s Vineyard junior varsity players, fully prepared to face the Nantucket junior varsity team this Saturday, were frustrated by a late cancellation from Nantucket. Citing a lack of numbers the Nantucket High School announced it would not be able to provide a competing team. “Obviously we’re not happy at all,” said Vineyard junior varsity coach Phil Hughes this week.
For 364 days of the year, the Vineyard and Nantucket sit on their respective perches in the ocean and gaze at each other with casual disregard.
The two Islands may share ocean currents, topography and even a boat line, but beyond that they have little to do with each other.
But for one glorious day of the year, these two estranged siblings shake off their shared disdain and come together for a sporting contest that is part family reunion and part grudge match.
It’s been a season of peaks and valleys for the Vineyard football team.
They shot out to a 5-0 record to start the season and earned a top rank in their division by the Boston Globe. And as if that weren’t enough, a news crew from NBC taped two 30-minute segments that will air later this year during a halftime of the network’s NFL Sunday Night Football program. Meanwhile, Sports Illustrated published a story showcasing the Vineyarders.
The couldashouldawoulda’s are a week old now but the fact is the Vineyarders are still in the mix for a league title and a trip to their eighth Super Bowl despite a frustrating 8-6 loss to Blue Hills Regional Vocational Technical High School last Friday night.
