Don Herman brought Friday Night Lights to the Vineyard. Not the book or television series, or the cliche of how much a team means to a community.

On Friday night, Donald Herman stood cooly on the sidelines along with his players preparing for his final game after 28 years as head football coach on the Vineyard.

Donald Herman began coaching football on the Vineyard in 1988. This year will be his last as head coach, and during halftime at Friday night's homecoming game he will be honored by the football community, past and present.

Varsity football head coach Donald Herman will lead his final season this fall, but before that he has an award to pick up.

High school football alum Michael McCarthy recently signed a professional contract with the Geneva Seahawks.

The rivalry game between the Vineyard and Nantucket football teams ended in victory for the Vineyarders, who defeated the Whalers 21-7 in a rough, penalty-filled game. Junior running back Jacob Cardoza scored two touchdowns.

Call it Clean Slate Saturday. Anyone who has seen the Vineyard football team face off against rival Nantucket will say the same thing. Win-loss records don’t matter. It’s the Island Cup. The teams face off at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the regional high school.

The following was excerpted from an article written on Nov. 18, 1988 by Gazette reporter Mike Kolleth just before Coach Donald Herman’s first Island Cup Game.

Junior Jacob Cardoza and senior Mike Mussell make a formidable combination on the high school varsity football team, Mussell's strong arm matched with Cardoza's athleticism and speed. This year Cardoza broke the school's single season record for receiving yards.

High school sports for the fall season are wrapping up. The football team is intent on going out with a bang as they defeated Bellingham on Friday. But it was a somber occasion for the boys’ soccer team, which ended its season with a loss in a hard-fought contest.