Martha’s Vineyard will not go quietly into the night. That was the message Coach Don Herman’s Vineyarders sent to the rest of the Eastern Athletic Conference as they ended a two-game losing streak Friday night with a 49 – 6 rout of the Brighton High School Bengals in MIAA inter-conference play.
Before a packed homecoming crowd that came to send off their Hall of Fame coach, the Vineyarders’ rushing attack got off to a fiery start. Senior tailback Jacob Cardoza broke two straight runs to bring the Purples to the Bengal one-yard line on their opening drive before senior fullback Ben Clark punched in his first of three rushing touchdowns with only 3:30 off the first-quarter clock. Adding to the ground assault was senior captain Austin Chandler who tacked on 109 yards and scored a touchdown from the slot. Senior back Curtis Farrell averaged 12.4 yards on just seven carries, adding another 87 yards to the Vineyard’s whopping 459 yards of total offense.
The offensive line, led by senior center Jimmy DiMattoa, showed up for this must-win scenario while the Vineyard defense held the Bengals to only 133 yards and seven first downs. Junior defensive back Ennis Foster capped off the shutdown performance with a late-game interception to end a celebratory homecoming night.
The Vineyard’s playoff hopes are still alive as they begin preparations for next week’s road trip to their final conference game against Somerset Berkley. A win next Friday with a loss from Bishop Stang could mean that Coach Herman’s retirement will have to wait just a little bit longer.
The post Vineyard rolls over Brighton Bengals, 49-6, in homecoming celebration appeared first on Martha's Vineyard Times.