Boys Club turns away Barnstable in opener, 14-6
BY STEVE SHEPPARD INDEPENDENT SPORTS EDITOR
The Nantucket Boys and Girls Club junior high team opened its season with a 14-6 victory over visiting Barnstable at the high school field last Wednesday.

The Boys and Girls Club junior high team follows up last week's victory over Barnstable with a game against Mattacheese Middle School this afternoon about 3:30 p.m. at the high school gridiron.

Nantucket took a 6-0 lead in the second quarter, thanks to a 20-yard run by Cody Perry that brought the ball to the Barnstable 20 yard line. From there, quarterback Taylor Hughes hooked up with end Andrew Benson, who made a nice, fingertip grab in the end zone to give Nantucket the lead it would never relinquish.

Corey Woolfolk opened the second half with an exciting 75-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. After Woolfolk ran the ball down deep in Nantucket territory, he deftly eluded Barnstable defenders with several cuts across the field before outrunning the defense. Perry, who racked up huge yardage on the day, scored on the coversion for the 14-0 tally.

Barnstable quarterback Shane McNeil ran for his team's lone touchdown. The conversion attempt was stopped on a good tackle by Troy Huyser.

Nantucket controlled the ball for most of the fourth quarter after good defensive work thwarted the Barnstable drive. Zac Gurley and Jamie Topham both contributed with key tackles, and Barnstable was stopped short of the goal on the Nantucket 22 yard line.

From there Nantucket hung onto the football, picking up three first downs as the clock wound down and the victory was assured.

Coach Steve Murphy was pleased with the Nantucket effort, making note of the 40 players brought over by Barnstable as compared with Nantucket's roster of 26.

"They did a very good job going up against that many kids and a team that was able to send out full defensive sets while we had 7 two way players," he said.

The team hosts Mattacheese Middle School this afternoon at the high school field. After that, six games remain on the schedule, including upcoming contests against Martha's Vineyard and an extended

road trip to Wells, Maine. I