THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, September 26, 2025 Page 11 amount on this night, as Somerville roared into Macdonald Stadium unbeaten at 2-0 with high-scoring wins over Boston English (31-18) and Belmont High (41-0) under its belt. Tornado cornerback Josh Bly anchored the Malden defense, batting down five passes and making 10 tackles. Right alongside him was senior Waslin Etienne, who made four tackles for loss. Bouncing back from a tough loss last week on the road at Lynn Tech (27-14), Coach Exilhomme praised his defense for holding back a high-scoring Somerville offense for most of the night. “To come out there and be such a great team and play so solid on defense, it’s like waking up from a bad dream,” he said. The Highlanders even made it to midfield on a last-ditch offensive series with under a minute left, after stopping Malden on a first-and-goal from the Somerville 5-yard line, after another McGuffie run. After the bounce-back win, Coach Exilhomme said he believes his team is ready for any challenge. “To come back and beat one of the best teams in the (GBL), the sky’s the limit for this team,” he said. The 5th-year coach had high praise for everyone who contributed to the victory. “I’m just proud of this team,” Exilhomme said. “I’m proud of the coaching staff, I’m proud of this program and the direction that Malden football is going.” “We’re on the right path now,” Exilhomme said. “Our season opener was not what we expected; we weren’t prepared for [Lynn Tech].” “To get a big GBL win tonight, that’s very big. The energy is definitely back in the locker room. We have something to build on going forward,” Coach Exilhomme said. *** TORNADO WARNINGS: It was a tremendous crowd at Macdonald Stadium to welcome the Malden High players and coaches in their home opener. “The crowd was big, loud and supportive, just as we hope it is for every home game this season,” said Malden Public Schools Director of Athletics Charlie Conefrey, who noted the emphasis this season on Theme Nights for each home game, sponsored by the Golden Tornado Club, the Booster Club for all MPS Athletics. Thursday night’s game was “Blue and Gold Night” and Conefrey said Golden Tornado Club Board Member Katie Bowdridge distributed hundreds of Blue and Gold beads on Game Night, à la Mardi Gras in New Orleans... Malden is right back in action with another home game, which was played last night (Thursday, Sept. 25) after Advocate deadline, when the Golden Tornado squad hosted another member of the “Golden” family, Northeast Metro Tech’s Golden Knights... Last night was “Country/Cowboy/ Cowgirl Night” at Macdonald Stadium... If Malden is looking for some more “payback” from last season, here’s another game the Tornado squad let slip away last year, when the host Knights took advantage of a passel of Malden turnovers to hand the visitors a 41-30 loss. It was the second game in a row Malden had scored 30 or more points and lost... One area of the game Coach Exilhomme believes Malden has improved is on the defensive side of the ball, where, he said, the Tornados’ “physicality” Captain Kenny Turcios thinks about the game during the National Anthem. (Courtesy Photo/ Gino Spadafora) Malden High lines up for the pregame National Anthem. (Courtesy Photo/Gino Spadafora) Jayden McGuffie on the run for Malden against Somerville. (Courtesy Photo/Gino Spadafora) has increased this season. “We are making some big hits out there and we are doing it consistently. Even in Week One where we lost the game, we were still out there playing aggressively and knocking people down defensively. That was not the case last season. It is good to see this year and we have to continue.” Junior Josh Bly battles to get open on a first half play. (Courtesy Photo/ Gino Spadafora) Malden High senior captain Billy Gavin (12) hands off to sophomore captain Jayden McGuffie (2) in Thursday’s win over Somerville. (Advocate Photo/Henry Huang) Senior captain Kenny Turcios (11) just made a big hit and stop on special teams and assistant coach Wiston Jeune (center) and Head Coach Witche Exilhomme (right) let him know about it. (Advocate Photo/Henry Huang) The Malden High School Marching Band and conductor Lauren Foley did a tremendous job performing at Thursday’s Home Opener victory. Lining up offensively is senior receiver Manny Perez. (Courtesy Photo/Gino Spadafora) Sophomore Nate Shonton gets some yards after a catch on Thursday. (Courtesy Photo/Gino Spadafora) Rising high into the night are the Malden High School varsity cheerleaders. (Advocate Photo/Henry Huang)
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