Page 14 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Wednesday, November 24, 2021 out Malden’s passing attack to just 57 yards on the day, on 5 of 13 numbers for Repoza, who still finished with a then school single-season passing mark of 1,447 yards in the air. Malden’s defense was solid as well, led by Durkins Anthony, as the only scoring of the game came at the end of a 61-yard scoring drive on Medford’s very first possession of the day, a nine-yard TD pass from senior Mustangs QB Chris Jones to Mike Nestor. The rest of the game was scoreless for both sides. Paul Camuso led Medford with 89 yards on nine carries. Keith Bevans had two sacks to spark the Medford defense. 1995: Playing his first varsity game ever and his first game of the season, surprise starter sophomore tailback Jose Harris sparked Medford to a 25-14 victory at Hormel Stadium with two TDs and 141 yards. Medford went up 7-0 when Harris sprinted to a 75-yard TD midway through the second quarter followed by Steve Bosselman’s PAT kick. Malden had a golden opportunity when Mike Ciaburri pounced on a Medford fumble at its own five-yard line, but the Mustangs wouldn’t let Malden score on four cracks at the goal line. Medford went up 13-0 when Harris busted free for his second TD, an 18-yard run halfway through the third quarter. Malden did rally back on junior QB Ryan Hale’s 11 of 22, 132 yards passing. A 47-yard pass to senior J.J. O’Brien set up a oneyard Hale TD in the third. Jimmy Meagher (11 carries, 71 yards) then scored on a 12-yard run for a 19-6 lead, and Paul Camuso’s 30-yard TD made it 25-6 with under four minutes left. Malden’s Joe DeMartino caught an 18-yard TD pass from Hale, and O’Brien caught the conversion for the final scoring with less than minute left, 25-14. 1996: This was a “Tale of Two Halves” and a near season-saver for Malden, which came into the game at 1-9 for the year, a low point in over 25 years for Malden football. But Medford staved off the comeback and held on for a 27-12 win in another frigid morning at Macdonald Stadium (just 10 degrees at kickoff). Medford owned the first half of the game with a 20-0 lead at the half. Sophomore Dwayne D’Oyley caught an 18-yard TD pass from Rob Baldassari, and Art Camuso’s kick made it 7-0. Junior Jose Harris, who scored twice the year before, got back in the spotlight with a 62-yard TD run, Camuso’s PAT making it 14-0. Malden’s offense sputtered, and Mustangs junior linebacker John Murphy made it worse when he blocked a Ryan Hale punt, and teammate Nick DeMaria fell on it in the end zone for another Medford TD and a 20-0 lead at the half. Junior Frank Femino scored on a 37yard run to start the second half, and Camuso’s third kick made it 27-0. After that? Malden owned the rest of the game. Hale hit senior TE Randy DiCarlo with a 13yard TD pass with 4:38 left in the third. Junior John DeMartino recovered a Mustangs fumble on Medford’s four-yard line, and Golden Tornadoes senior Adrian Pleasant ran it in one play later to make it 27-12. Malden drove to the Medford 19 on its next possession, but the drive stalled. Medford killed the clock and Game #109 was history. 1997: Senior Medford tailback Frank Femino had a holiday to remember in leading the Mustangs to a 34-8 victory at blustery Hormel. Femino ran for 163 yards on just 10 carries and challenged the single-game series’ Thanksgiving scoring mark with 22 points, three TDs and two conversion runs. On just the second play of the game, Femino motored 62 yards for a score. After Mike Vecchia blocked a Malden punt, Medford was back in the end zone four plays later when Eric Giordano scored on a three-yard run. Femino’s conversion run made it 14-0. Malden’s best weapon, junior QB Timmy Philbrook’s passing, was hampered already by the strong winds that day, and it got worse when he was injured in the second quarter and did not return – held to 2 of 10, 20 yards passing. Medford scored two more TDs on runs by senior Bryce Hopkins and Femino for a 27-0 halftime lead. Femino’s 55yard run to the Malden 4 early in the fourth set up his own TD run a play later and a 33-0 lead. Malden senior fullback Gregg DeVincentis scored to avert the shutout on a four-yard run late. Matt Donoghue ran in the conversion points at QB. Steve Ciampoli led the Medford defense with 10 tackles and three assists. DeVincentis led Malden with 12 tackles, four assists and a fumble recovery. 1998: This was a shocker. Two teams not known for their offensive fireworks combined to set a new combined single-game scoring record for the series in Game #111 at Macdonald Stadium. It was also the final Thanksgiving Day game for legendary Malden Head Coach Paul Finn, after a 26-year career. Medford used a huge game from quarterback Mike Fahey, who ran for 164 yards on just seven carries, and three TDs and 133 yards from senior tailback Pat McCarthy, for a 47-32 win over Malden, which eclipsed a series record set in 1979 (a 48-24 Medford win). Medford scored the first three times it had the ball: on a six-yard keeper by Fahey, nine-yard TD reception by Steve Chausse and a 45-yard run by Fahey. Malden broke the shutout on a one-yard keeper by senior QB Timmy Philbrook in the second quarter, but Fahey hit Brandon Hopkins with a 28-yard TD pass with under a minute to play in the half for a 27-8 lead at the break. Malden came right back with a 38-yard TD catch by Craig Barton early in the third, but it was the closest they would get. The fourth quarter was a wild one, with 36 points scored combined, another series record. McCarthy scored on a nine-yard run, and Fahey’s 89yard TD run, a record for Medford on Thanksgiving Day, made it 41-16, Mustangs. Malden answered with a four-yard TD run and conversion by Tommy Kelley to make it 41-24, but Medford added another TD on a sixyard run by Terence Burrell. Malden closed it out with a 35-yard scoring pass from Philbrook to Matt Donoghue. Philbrook finished with a Malden Thanksgiving Day record of 210 yards passing (15 for 33, 2 TDs), surpassing Mike Byrne’s numbers from the 1970 game (207 yards). Peter Kobzik kicked five PATs for Medford, another record. Junior Nick Cox, Malden’s unofficial MVP on the day, ran for 114 yards on just six carries, a TD and a PAT, catching five passes for 54 yards. Malden senior Craig Barton had six catches for 100 yards. 1999: In the last game of the century, Medford made it six wins in a row at soggy and cold Hormel Stadium, with the weather making for a smaller than usual crowd in a 37-20 victory. Senior Wlad Louis was the star for Medford, along with senior captain Steve Chausse. Louis ran for 127 yards and a touchdown, and Chausse had 70 tough yards on just 10 carries and two TDs. Chausse also sparked a Mustangs “D” that held Malden to just 63 yards on the ground and five first downs. Malden senior captain and QB Nick Cox was his team’s best player on Thanksgiving for the second straight season, keeping his team in on both sides of the ball. He led Malden in rushing and in passing (3 for 12, 101 yards). His favorite target was senior Scott Haskell (2 rec., 97 yards), who had a 71-yard touchdown catch which helped Malden tie the game at 8-8 in the first quarter. Brad Roche returned the ensuing kickoff 75 yards for a Medford touchdown. The two teams traded TDs in the second period – Chausse’s fouryard run for Medford and Cox’s one-yard run – as Medford led, 21-14, at the half. Medford started the third quarter with a 32yard TD run by Brandon Hopkins, but Cox returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for a TD to make it 28-20 Mustangs, as Malden was right back in the ballgame, A 32-yard field goal by Mike Piontkowski, the first FG by either team since 1991 (Mike Moreno game winner), and a 25yard TD run by Chausse sealed the win. This win tied the series for all-time at 51-51-10 with the first winner of the new millennium taking the lead. This was the Malden junior Mike Mathes (11) broke free for a big gainer in last year’s 29-0 win. (Courtesy Photo)
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