Island residents who stayed with their television sets on Sunday night past the Patriots and into Sunday Night Football were hoping to see the promised NBC coverage of the Island high school football team. It has been rescheduled for Nov. 18 and Nov. 25. Earlier schedules had the segment airing on Nov. 4 and Nov. 11.
It was a year of ‘what ifs' for the teams of the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School in 2007, as several teams missed the playoffs by the slimmest of margins, while others lost games in the state tournament that could have turned on the bounce of a puck or a roll of the ball.
It was déjà vu all over again for the boys’ soccer team Sunday as the team again found itself in a sudden death penalty kick shoot-out in the opening round of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament.
Although the Vineyarders prevailed in the shoot-out against Dighton-Rehoboth, thanks to the efforts of goaltender Nico Cuba, to win the game 3-2, there was a surreal quality to the game which marked the third time in three consecutive state tournament games the team’s fate was decided by a shoot-out.
Even before the 30th annual Island Cup game began on Saturday, things didn't look good for the visiting Whalers from Nantucket.
When the players in blue and white stormed the field before the game and tried to plant their flag, the wooden mast snapped in half and the Whalers' banner fell onto the ground.
Things only got worse for the Whalers after that.
The Vineyard exploded for 28 second quarter points, all fueled by Nantucket turnovers, to put the game out of reach early en route to a 48-6 drubbing.
There was no fighting to the top this year. No tooth and
nail-clawing to inch past the next-highest class rank, no daily status
updates with the guidance department computer system, no strategic
scheduling of classes to yield a higher-weighted grade point average,
regardless of interest in the subjects.
No, not the NBC special on the Vineyard high school football team that will air nationally twice next month, though the Island football community got a kick out of NBC camera crews trailing every facet of practice, the locker room, then filming a solid 35-20 win over bulky Hull High School last Friday.
“Preseason’s over. The league starts on Friday,” said junior inside linebacker Cody Brewer while organizing his derby fishing gear on Saturday morning after the game.
Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School is exploring whether an opportunity exists to move its sports program, including football, to the Atlantic Coast League following the resignation of North Quincy, Quincy and Whitman-Hanson high schools from the league next fall.
Michael Joyce, athletic director at the Island high school, said this week that letters have been sent to principals and athletic directors of Atlantic Coast League schools inquiring about the fit for Vineyard sports in the league.
The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School football team is having a good week.
In addition to rolling over Littleton/Broomfield at home on Friday by a final of 29-14 to remain undefeated on the season, a news crew from NBC Sports is traveling with the team this week and taping a segment that will be aired later this year during a halftime segment of the network’s NFL Sunday Night Football program.
Daylight is on the wane, temperatures are dipping and beaches are emptying, but on the high school athletic fields the fall sports season is just starting to heat up.
As one Vineyard sports fan put it this week, “The leaves are turning, the busy season is over, and there is high school football on Saturday and the Patriots on Sunday . . . not to mention the Red Sox are going to the playoffs . . . it’s the most magical time of the year.”
The girls field hockey and girls lacrosse teams are holding a benefit yard sale, Saturday, Sept. 29, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Chilmark Community Center. A wide variety of items will be available.
Both teams are raising monies for uniforms and team travel for the current season. This is a collaborative effort with both girls’ sports sharing all proceeds to support field hockey and lacrosse.
