Clubbers club Vineyard
BY STEVE SHEPPARD INDEPENDENT SPORTS EDITOR
Supported by a large home turnout at the high school field, the Boys and Girls Club junior high football team improved to 3-1 on the strength of a hard fought, 14-8, victory over Martha's Vineyard last Wednesday afternoon.

ROB BENCHLEY/The Independent Cody Perry slips a tackle as he gains yardage against the Vineyard. Perry was instrumental in the Clubbers' 14-8 win against Martha's Vineyard on Oct. 17.

The Clubbers played well on both sides of the ball, with no better example than their effort at the start of the second quarter. They first thwarted a determined Vineyard drive deep in Nantucket territory, and then turned around and marched the ball right back 96 yards for the game's first touchdown.

"It's an accomplishment at this level to put 96 yards together in a game, never mind on one drive," defensive coach Mike Connolly said afterwards.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Vineyard had the ball on the Nantucket 26 yard line as the second stanza began. Helped by a key, third down pass over the middle that netted 11 yards, the Vineyard had a first down on the four yard line.

The Clubber defense bore down, stopping two Vineyard runs. Jamie Topham came up big on third down, making the tackle on a sweep attempt. Now on the two yard line, the Vineyard tried sweeping left but was pushed back by Nantucket, and the Clubbers had the ball.

Relying on the strength of their running game, and their two go-to backs, Cody Perry and Corey Woolfolk, Nantucket churned it out. Perry began the drive with a 12-yard gain to the Nantucket 16 yard line, following it up two plays later with a 15-yard sweep to the 30. He then picked up a first down with an 11-yard run and brought the ball to midfield on the next play. From there, Woolfolk picked up 28 yards on a run to the 25 yard line, followed by a 10-yard run to the 15, helped out hugely by his line who opened a gaping hole in the middle.

Working now from the 15, quarterback Taylor Hughes fired a pass to Andrew Benson, bringing the ball to the three yard line. Hughes pushed it in himself on a keeper and it was 6-0.

After the teams swapped possessions to begin the second half, the Vineyard got off a sustained drive of its own, controlling the ball into the fourth period. After driving to the Nantucket 17 yard line, a pass over the middle set up a first and goal on the nine yard line. The subsequent pass into the end zone was good, as was the conversion, and the Vineyard led with six and a half minutes to go, 8-6.

But the Clubbers' explosive offense sealed the victory. Perry took the ensuing kick and returned it 40 yards to the Vineyard 30 yard line. A crucial third down pass over the middle from Hughes to Benson gave Nantucket the first down it needed at the 18 yard line. From there, Woolfolk swept right and eluded all tacklers for the touchdown, capped by a conversion run by Hughes for the final, 14-8 tally.

Another good defensive play came on the Vineyard's next possession when Terrel Correia smothered the quarterback for a nine-yard loss, and a fitting exclamation point to the win.

"Our kids played really hard and all their hard work paid off in a big game," Connolly said.

In only its second year, the program is blossoming, as the Boys and Girls Clubbers get to play as a unit and face other junior high teams from the Cape and Vineyard.

The Clubbers play Wixon at home today at 3:30 p.m. I