SEEING PURPLE VINEYARD TAKES ISLAND SHOWDOWN
BY STEVE SHEPPARD
It only occurs here only once every two years, and from the banner hanging across Main Street to the shop windows decorated in white and blue, Nantucket was ready to take on Martha's Vineyard last Saturday on a football-filled day in which three teams - the high school varsity and junior varsity along with the Boys and Girls Club squad - would host their purple counterparts.

For the third year in a row there was no postseason at stake for either high school team, no further reward than island bragging rights and possession of the coveted Island Cup.

But for those who played, and for the 1,500 or so who ringed the field and cheered them on, the feature match was a celebration of tradition and island life; symbolic not of our differences but of all that islanders have in common.

In the end, it was not the heartbreaker that previous contests had been - there was no "water boy" to confuse the refs in the game's waning seconds. Although the Vineyarders proudly hoisted the Cup aloft when it was over, the outcome does not diminish the effort, and heart, of the Whalers, who gave all they had until the final whistle.

Saturday's Island Cup was hard-hitting. Delroy Lawrence (#21, above), who scored Nantucket's first touchdown, is sandwiched by Vineyard defenders. Mark Dwyer (32) picks up key yardage against the purple men.

"They hung in there tough," noted coach Vito Capizzo afterwards. "I feel badly for the seniors."

The final 47-22 score belies the intensity of the contest, as three late Vineyard touchdowns came when the game was already out of reach. No, the tenor of the game was encapsulated by Nantucket's comeback, and by a series of plays on which the game hinged.

After falling behind 14-0, the Whalers came back late in the first quarter. An unsportsmanlike conduct call against the visitors gave Nantucket great field position at the Vineyard 30 yard line. Senior running back John O'Mara, who capped a brilliant year with two touchdowns and 74 yards rushing on the day, took the ball to the 6, where quarterback Geddes Paulsen found Delroy Lawrence in the left side of the end zone. The conversion toss to Andriques Farmer narrowed the deficit to 14-8.

The Vineyard answered with two quick touchdowns to open the second period, but Nantucket was not out of this one yet. The rest of the period belonged to the Whalers and only the clock would stop them.

Nantucket controlled the ball and the tempo of the game, moving steadily downfield on its next possession. Behind the running of O'Mara and the passing of Paulsen, the Whalers got to the Vineyard 5 yard line, where O'Mara carried the ball twice, scoring on a 2-yard plunge. The conversion pass fell incomplete, but Nantucket, with the score now 28-14 and with nearly six minutes remaining in the quarter, was within reach.

The Vineyard picked up two first downs on its next drive, but the Nantucket defense was picking up steam. And when the Vineyard fumbled deep in Nantucket territory on a third down sweep play, Evan Hourihan was there to recover the ball for the Whalers. Although Nantucket couldn't mount a drive on its next offensive series, Tomas Smaliorius came up with a big interception on the ensuing Vineyard pass play.

Nantucket had 73 yards to go with only a minute left in the half. Passes to Smaliorius and Lawrence (who caught six passes for 67 yards on the day) and a run by O'Mara brought the ball close to mid-field.

And then things got interesting. With time running out, Mark Dwyer ran to the Vineyard 40-yard line, but only 5 seconds remained and Nantucket was out of timeouts. The Whalers advanced on a pass to Farmer, but time had expired. Flags were thrown. A roughing the quarterback call against the Vineyard gave Nantucket one more crack at the endzone just outside the 10-yard line. Paulsen rolled out, found no receivers open, and rushed toward the right end zone, where he made a valiant dive for the score but was knocked through the air by Vineyard cornerback Terrell Johnson. The refs marked him out of bounds 6 inches from paydirt.

"That might very well have been the turning point in the game," said a relieved Martha's Vineyard head coach Don Herman. "That was crucial. Had they put that in, now you're talking about a whole different ball of wax."

Nantucket again knocked on the door to open the third quarter. After Dwyer returned the kickoff to midfield, Nantucket picked up three first downs to make it to the Vineyard 23 yard line. A scrambling Paulsen found Smaliorius in the endzone for the would be score, but the refs ruled that the quarterback had been over the line of scrimmage. Both defenses bore down after that, and the quarter ended scoreless.

And when the Vineyard scored early in the fourth quarter, the lead was suddenly 21 points. Nantucket, with only 22 players to the Vineyard's 32, was battered but not humbled as O'Mara's scoring plunge with three minutes to go in the contest proved.

Players on both sides were worn after the hard-hitting battle. There was nothing left to give when the clock finally wound down, marking the end of another island epic. When the final handshakes were made, the two teams congratulated each other as only true rivals can.

"We knew it was going to be a dogfight," coach Capizzo said. "Today was not our day."

The fall sports season has ended. Fittingly, cold temperatures moved in quickly on Sunday, signaling the start of winter.

Between the lines . . . It was the 60th meeting of the two teams and 46th in a row . . . The Vineyard has now captured the Island Cup four years in a row. Nantucket still holds the edge, however, 17-12. . . Nantucket ends the season, 6-5, the Vineyard, 8-3. It's Nantucket's 33rd winning season in Coach Capizzo's 43 years . . . Seniors playing in their final Whalers football game were O'Mara, Josh Holdgate, Paulsen, Mark Dwyer, Almondo Mason, Eric Rogers, Erin Osona, Kevin Ramos, Josh Stone, Robert St. Pierre. . . . NHS graduate and opera singer Greta Feeney sang the National Anthem (in the key of C) . . . It was good to see former WMVY sports announcer Ken Goldberg, who now calls games for the Vineyard cable TV station ... Happy Thanksgiving.

The day dawned bright for Homecoming festivitlies. From top: floats paraded up Main Street before the game; Homecoming Queen

I Evesha Kenlyn and Homecoming King John O'Mara; fans were out in force; NHS cheerleaders, from left, Taylor Murphy, Adelle Beaumont, Natallie Kaschuluk, Melissa Holdgate and Samantha Reis helped lead the crowd.