By JIM HICKEY

Vineyard football fans can dust off their cowbells and Harpoon the Whalers signs, because the Island Cup game is back.

After a brief one-year hiatus, the fabled football game between the Vineyard and Nantucket will return this year, scheduled to be played on the Vineyard the Saturday before Thanksgiving. School and athletic officials from both Islands have been busy in recent weeks hammering out an agreement to bring back the game, which was canceled last season for the first time in nearly 50 years.

The boys’ basketball team continued to roll this week, improving its record to 10-1 — the team’s best start ever under head coach Mike Joyce.

The team now stands atop the Eastern Athletic Conference with a record of 3-0, and already has clinched a berth in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament, with roughly half a season yet to play.

The girls’ hockey team continues to improve and the boys’ hockey team staged a turnaround to the delight of team coach Matt Mincone.

Sandy Mincone, athletic director for the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, announced this week she will step down at the end of the current school year.

Ms. Mincone, who was appointed athletic director in August for a one-year period, is leaving the position to move off-Island. She said her decision came after much thought and consideration.

“I will miss the job and the people I have had the pleasure to work with,” she said. “I wish I could pick the school up and take it with me, but of course I can’t.”

The Vineyard boys’ basketball team lost 75-62 to conference rival Bishop Feehan on Tuesday, ending an 11-game winning streak.

Earlier this month, the Vineyarders hit a three-point shot to beat Bishop Feehan in the closing seconds. But this week it was the Shamrocks turn for dramatics; they overcame a 10-point deficit in the first quarter and forced the Vineyard into 24 turnovers.

With its strong history of winning records and qualifying for the state tournament nearly every year, the boys’ tennis team is a perenniel standout.

And this year the team under longtime coach Ned Fennessey is having perhaps its strongest season ever, winning the league title in their first year in the Eastern Athletic Conference with a remarkable record of 12-2 overall and a perfect 7-0 in their league.

Vineyard sports fans had their fill of home team action on Saturday, with all four varsity winter sports teams playing and a fifth game played by the junior varsity girls’ basketball team for good measure. But there was little joy on a blustery winter day; three of the varsity teams lost and one played to a tie.

The bright spot was the girls’ JV squad, which defeated Duxbury 40-24.

Boys’ Basketball

Both the boys’ and girls’ lacrosse teams defeated their inter-Island rivals from Nantucket this week, as the girls rolled over the Whalers by a final of 18-5 and the boys won by a comfortable margin of 10-5. In recent years the teams have engaged in epic battles on both sides of the Sound, as both schools have featured strong lacrosse programs.

With the team competing in just three home meets and eleven regular-season meets overall, the accomplishments of the Vineyard cross-country squads can get a bit, well, lost in the woods.

Vineyard All-Stars

Vineyard fall athletes made an impressive showing in the Eastern Athletic Conference All-Star selections, announced earlier this week.

Cross country: Jeremy Alley-Tarter, Cooper Chapman, Kyle Joba-Woodruff, Hannah Moore, Michael Schroeder.

Field hockey: Maggie Johnson, Meghan McHugh.

Golf: Mike deBettencourt, Chris Morris.

Football: Delmont Araujo, Tyler Araujo, Michael Montanile, Conor Smith.

Boys’ soccer: Rodrigo Honorato, John Marcal, John Oliveira, Jack Roberts.

After a brief November lull in high school athletics, basketball, hockey and swimming move to center stage on the sports scene this week. Season passes for basketball and hockey games are available through the high school athletic department for $55 for adults and $35 for seniors. Passes are good for both boys’ and girls’ games.

After a brief November lull in high school athletics, basketball, hockey and swimming move to center stage on the sports scene this week. Season passes for basketball and hockey games are available through the high school athletic department for $55 for adults and $35 for seniors. Passes are good for both boys’ and girls’ games.

Boys’ Basketball