THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, October 1, 2021 Page 13 Malden High football blanked by Melrose in non-league matchup Tornado squad held its own in second half despite being undermanned By Justin McAllister T hey might have come in without a win in their first two outings, but the Melrose High Red Raiders hardly looked the worse for wear in a 38-0 win over visiting Malden High on Friday night. Senior captains Trevor Botto and Shea Fogarty led the way for Melrose as the Raiders took a 24-0 lead after the first quarter and never looked back in recording their fifth victory in five tries since the series was regenerated in the 2017 season (the two teams did not play this past spring in the Fall 2/COVID-19 season). With the win, Melrose improved to 1-2 overall (0-1 ML) while Malden fell to 0-2 (0-0 Greater Boston League). The Golden Tornadoes squad is back in action tonight when it returns home to host Somerville High in the Greater Boston League opener for both teams. Kickoff is at 6:00 p.m. at Macdonald Stadium in Malden. The game was originally scheduled to be played in Somerville, but an issue at the Highlanders’ Dilboy Stadium caused a change in venue. Malden undermanned against Melrose Through a collection of issues, including injuries, illness and disciplinary reasons, Malden was shorthanded for the second week in a row against Melrose. Despite the unavailability of personnel, first-year Head Coach Witche Exilhomme’s squad persevered and did show improvement in some areas. In its opening season loss to Whittier Tech, Malden turned the ball over five times, including four interceptions by two quarterbacks combined. On Friday night, the Golden Tornadoes squad had zero turnovers and also held onto the football, possession time-wise, considerably better than in its opening loss. Malden also cleaned up the slate on penalties after being flagged double-digit times in its opener. On Friday the Golden Tornado team had only three penalties, none which hurt them on either side of the ball. Third-string quarterback Nik McDuffie, who had just one day to prepare for his first-ever start behind the center, ended up having a decent night overall. McDuffie, a lanky 6-2 senior who was named a team captain **** EXTRA POINTS: After tonight’s game, Malden embarks on a Malden High football held its own in the second half against host Melrose on Friday night after falling behind early. (Advocate Photo) just before the start of the game, hung in the passing pocket all night long, despite heavy pressure and several Melrose sacks, and got off a string of deep pass completions. For the night, McDuffie finished 9-for-20 passing for 137 yards, more than respectable on a night he was on the run for most of it. His stock certainly rose as he displayed a lot of leadership and composure under pressure. McDuffie stepped into starting QB, team captain’s role McDuffie was stepping in to fill the spot of senior starting quarterback and team captain Jordan Rodriguez, who was sidelined Friday night after receiving an upper body injury in the season-opening loss which ended his night. Late in the second quarter, with Malden trailing by three TDs, McDuffie led a 10-play Malden offensive drive, its longest of the season, fueled by a pair of long completions to 6-5 sophomore Gabriel Vargas of 37 yards and a 26-yard hit to senior Nelson Monosiet. When a fourth down pass fell incomplete and a penalty gave Malden a first-down at the Melrose 19-yard line and all zeroes showing on the first-half game clock, Coach Exilhomme opted for a 34-yard field goal try by senior placekicker Ronald Juarez. Unfortunately, Juarez’s boot was slightly wide to the left, and Malden went into halftime trailing 24-0. The Malden defense did shore up a bit in the second half after a punishing ground game ate up yards and clock time for Melrose in the first half. Fogarty finished off Melrose’s second drive of the night with a 7-yard touchdown run, and Zach Federico’s PAT kick made it 7-0 Melrose with 9:21 left in the first quarter. Melrose scored four times in first quarter After a Melrose defensive stand caused a Malden threeand-out, the Raiders got another touchdown, this time on a seven-play scoring drive on a short field, starting on the Malden 41. Brady Pitcher broke free and was alone in the right corner of the end zone to catch a 10-yard TD toss from senior QB Trevor Botto with Liam Maher notching the two-point conversion points on a catch from Botto and a 15-0 lead. On the next Malden possession, Melrose increased its lead to 17-0 when a punt snap to Juarez was off and the ball rolled out of the end zone. Melrose kept coming on the ensuing possession and scored its third touchdown of the first quarter on a three-yard score on a Botto keeper over right guard. Melrose tacked on another TD in the third quarter on another Botto run and a Federico kick to up the lead to 31-0. Sophomore Stephen Fogarty scored on a two-yard run in the fourth quarter to close out the scoring. three-game road stretch, which takes the Golden Tornadoes to Della Russo Stadium in Revere for a now not-so-rare Thursday night game on Thursday, October 7 for a 6:00 p.m. game with the Patriots, the first matchup as GBL rivals since 2009... After that it will be two first-time GBL showdowns in a row as Malden camps out at Manning Field in Lynn for two consecutive weeks, taking on host Lynn Classical on the lone Saturday game of the season, at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 16. On Friday, October 22, Malden plays Lynn English at the Manning Bowl... Hats off to Melrose High’s marching band, which put on a fine performance at halftime for the decent crowd... In a rare high school football occurrence, two senior quarterbacks served as team captains Friday night – Malden starter Nik McDuffie and fellow senior QB Jordan Rodriguez – who was sidelined with an injury... Despite a highly unfavorable weather forecast which called for downpours and windswept rain beginning at kickoff and continuing through the game, there was nary a drop that fell all evening; however, there was some heavy rain after midnight later that evening. **** FRIDAY’s BOXSCORE Melrose (ME) 38, Malden 0 Malden Melrose 38 First quarter ME – Shea Fogarty 3 run (Zach Federico kick) ME – Brady Pitcher 10 pass from Trevor Botto (Liam Maher pass from Botto) ME – Safety ME – Botto 3 run (Federico kick) Second quarter No scoring Third quarter ME – Botto 5 run (Federico kick) Fourth quarter ME – Stephen Fogarty 2 run (Federico kick) *** RUSHING – Malden – Mack Coulonges-Blaise, 11-37, JJ Perez, 5-15, Nik McDuffie 8 (-17) PASSING – Malden – Nik McDuffie, 9-20-137 RECEIVING – Malden – Nelson Monosiet, 4-89, Gabriel Vargas, 2-27, Oswaldo Rodriguez, 2-4, Mack Coulonges-Blaise, 1-7 (0-2) 0 0 0 0 –0 (1-2) 24 0 7 7 – Law Offices of JOSEPH D. CATALDO, P.C. “ATTORNEYS AND COUNSELORS AT LAW” • ESTATE/MEDICAID PLANNING • WILLS/TRUSTS/ESTATES • INCOME TAX PREPARATION • WEALTH MANAGEMENT • RETIREMENT PLANNING • ELDER LAW 369 Broadway Everett, MA 02149 (617)381-9600 JOSEPH D. CATALDO, CPA, CFP, MST, ESQUIRE. AICPA Personal Financial Specialist Designee
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