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THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Wednesday, November 27, 2019 Page 15 SPORTS | FROM PAGE 11 only win. Junior two-way end Luis Zamora and junior split end Angel Ortiz were Medford’s stars. For Malden, senior Ricky Bethelmie went over the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the year. Malden struck first when freshman quarterback Breno Giacomini (believed to be the first freshman to start at quarterback ever, for either side) hit Nevy Marc with a 30-yard pass, followed by a 20-yard TD run by Bethelmie and a PAT kick by Carmelo Bari. Medford QB Dave Foley then hit Ryan Driscoll with a seven-yard TD pass, and Zamora’s PAT tied it at 7-7 at the half. A big catch by Zamora and a 20-yard run by freshman tailback Julien Mundele fueled the drive. A trick inside kick by Medford opened the second half as Ortiz leaped high to snare Zamora’s “pooch” kick. A 40yard run by Zamora and six-yard TD burst by Terence “The Bus” Burrell gave Medford a 13-7 lead. Zamora’s PAT made it 14-7 and turned out to be the game-winning point. A lightning response by Malden came with a 72-yard TD run by Bethlemie, but the PAT kick to tie bounced off the goalpost, and Malden trailed, 14-13. Dave Richard and Jack Dolabany made key sacks for Medford as the visiting Mustang crowd, a large one despite the team record, roared with each one. On Malden’s last chance drive, Ortiz sealed the win with an acrobatic interception at his own 25-yard line, following his game-saving play with a “Mustang Dive” into the Medford fans as the Mustangs won for the seventh straight time on Thanksgiving. 2001: In front of the largest crowd in years at drizzly Hormel Stadium, this one was thought to be an evenly-matched battle before kickoff, but Medford exploded in the first half for a 27-0 lead en route to a 34-6 victory. Sophomore tailback Julien Mundele led the way with four TDs and 219 yards rushing, one TD short of Mike Colonna’s series record of five TDs set in the 1972 game. Medford senior Angel Ortiz scored the other first-half TD, on a reception from senior QB Peter Krasco, who returned to action after missing three games with injury. Krasco went for 138 yards on 8-of-13 numbers. A PAT kick by Mike Piontkowski and two-point conversion by Dennis Giannino off a pass from the kicker were Medford’s other first-half points. Mundele scored his fourth TD on a 31yard third-quarter run. Malden senior quarterback Mike Hudd passed for 143 yards, including a 43-yard TD strike to Tim Konick, to avert the shutout. Hudd set a single-season Malden passing mark (1,571 yards) in the loss. Medford tied an all-time series record with its eighth-straight Thanksgiving win. 2002: A heavy snowstorm blanketed Macdonald Stadium in Malden with nearly a foot of the white stuff, but the Malden players and coaches shoveled it off in time to hand Medford a 12-0 shutout loss and snap an eight-game Malden loss streak. Malden won for the first time since 1993 and also shut out Medford for the first time since the fabled 100th game in 1987 (280). On the “frozen tundra” Golden Tornadoes junior Elisee “Buddha” Pompilus rushed for 149 yards on 23 carries and an 11-yard touchdown. Running behind senior captain Jim Noble and the Malden line, Pompilus’s running set up a oneyard TD burst by senior quarterback A.C. Callahan with 8:53 left in the half. The PAT kick was no good, and Malden led, 6-0, which stood up at half. Medford drove to the Malden 20 next, but Malden’s Dan Laskey pounced on a Mustang fumble. A scoreless third period left it at 6-0 heading into the final quarter. A 34yard run by Pompilus set up his own three-yard TD with 6:53 to go in the game, and the conversion pass was no good; Malden led, 12-0. Malden’s J.D. Pappagallo was credited with slowing down Mustang star runner Julien Mundel,e who was held to just one long fourth-quarter run. 2003: Malden won for the second-straight year, 7-0, at sunny and brisk Hormel, the first time Malden shut out Medford in two consecutive games in 44 years since 19581959 (26-0, 20-0) and the first time Malden won two years in a row since 1992-1993. The win also retied the all-time series at 53-5310. The game’s lone TD came on a jet sweep by Malden junior Jamal Woods (7 carries, 56 yards). Senior co-captain Devin McNelis drilled the PAT kick in the first quarter, and that was it for scoring for the day, as the defenses took over. The anticipated showdown between star backs Elisee Pompilis for Malden and senior four-year starter Julien Mundele of Medford never materialized as each was essentially held in check, though Mundele did lead all rushers with 77 yards on 20 carries. Penalties stalled Medford all game, which never got inside the Malden 20 in the second half. For Malden, seniors McNelis, 6-7 NFL-bound end Breno Giacomini (4 sacks), Rob Quigley, Sam Nelson and junior Kevin Newhall bottled up Medford’s attack. After the game, Medford coach Al Pare announced his retirement after four years at the helm. 2004: One of the biggest offensive lines in Malden High football history simply dominated the line of scrimmage as Malden won its third straight, 28-6, on a partly sunny, brisk morning at Macdonald Stadium. Malden won its third-straight for the first time in 26 years (19861988) and spoiled first-year Medford coach Mike DeFelice’s Thanksgiving debut. Seniors Kevin Newhall and Maurice Rodriquez, junior Brendan McNelis and sophomores James Brito-White and Brian Melo dominated up front, and Jamal Woods carried 13 times for 117 yards and two TDs to lead Malden. Junior fullback Renaldo Bloodworth ran for 60 yards, and junior slotback Anthony Pappagallo had 49 yards and a TD. Medford scored on the last play of the first half when senior QB Kevin Krasco hit junior end Kamal Mgaresh in the back of the end zone for an eight-yard TD. Bloodworth and Woods scored in the second half, and junior Wiston Jeuen hit 4-of-4 PATs. Outsized, Medford played tough all day, led by senior linebacker Gerry Murphy’s 12 tackles and two sacks. NU-bound Newhall led Malden’s defense with 10 tackles. Malden retook the all-time series lead, 54-53-10, in the victory. 2005: Malden High started quietly but finished with a loud thump in a 39-6 demolition in a traditional “Mud Bowl” game at Hormel. The fourth win in a row for Malden was the first time in 40 years for a Golden Tornadoes “Four-Peat.” The one-sided win also capped the most successful Malden season since 1988, the first time it had won nine games since 1987 as it finished 9-2. Star of the day was junior Derek Freni, with three touchdowns: one running, one receiving and one punt return TD. Classmate Jimmy Chery capped a banner All-Scholastic campaign with 13 carries for 122 yards. Freni, senior co-captains Brendan McNelis and Anthony Pappagallo along with seniors Wiston Jeune, and Sam Guillaume led the defense, allowing Medford only one completed pass all game and less than 50 yards rushing. Medford (3-8) scored its only points on an 85-yard kickoff return TD by senior Kamal Mgaresh in the third quarter. It was coach Rich Cullen’s last game at Malden as he retired in the offseason. 2006: Medford came in winless, shut out on the scoreboard for six straight games at 0-10 and the only history many gave the Mustangs a chance at making was they’d be the “losingest” team in school history if they dropped #11. There was positive history to be made instead, as Mustang Sean Foley booted a 26yard field goal on Medford’s first possession in the first overtime game ever played in the storied, 119-year history of Medford-Malden, a stunning, 17-14 upset at rainy, muddy and dark Macdonald Stadium in Malden. Medford’s fans rushed the field after the “season-saver” win, the second time in the decade (2000) they had entered the game winless and won it, and third time overall (1976). Malden finished 3-7 in coach John Lopresti’s Thanksgiving debut. It also turned out to be Medford coach Mike DeFelice’s final game at the helm, as Medford broke a four-game win streak by Malden. Steve Murphy was the Mustang workhorse in this game, 138 yards and a TD on 23 carries, as Medford shocked Malden by taking a 14-0 lead as drenching rain soaked the field. Malden did regroup and owned the second half, scoring twice to tie it, once on a short keeper by sophomore QB Justin Richardson and then on a 15-sweep around left end with just 46 seconds to play in the game by senior All-Scholastic Jimmy Chery. Chery caught the two-point conversion pass in traffic to tie it. Both teams got four downs from the 10yard line in the historic, first-ever OT period. Malden was stopped at the three-yard line on fourth down by a Steve Murphy tackle in its try. Medford appeared to win it on second down on a Murphy eight-yard TD run on its try, but it was called back due to a penalty. Two plays later, Foley’s FG sealed the win. 2007: Game #120 at Hormel in Medford featured the best weather since the 2000 game, sunny and “balmy” in the high 40s, and also brought the closest finish since that year as well, as it took a PAT kick by sophomore Nick Hoyt, the first of the season and of his career, to make the difference in a 7-6 Malden victory. This was a “pick ’em” game to start and ended the same way. Medford scored first on an 11yard run by senior star runner Steve Murphy, but could not convert and led, 6-0. Malden (4-7) came back and tied the game on a three-yard run by backfield “newcomer” junior captain David Freni, and it was up to Hoyt to deliver the end-over-end kick that made it by about two feet over the upright for the lead at the half. That was it for scoring as the defenses took over. Both Freni and sophomore Marcos Almeida ate up lots of yards for Malden, and Murphy did the same for Medford (29), but no one could get into the end zone. Medford’s last and best bid ended on Malden’s eight-yard line with 3:26 left to play when Murphy was stopped short of the stake by Malden seniors Andrew Dinisco and Rodney Borgella. Medford still didn’t quit, held Malden and got the ball back with under a minute to play, but sophomore Mustang QB Mike Sullivan’s last pass of the day was intercepted by Richardson with 41 seconds left on the clock. Interim head coach Jon Wilson was at the helm for the Mustangs in his first and only Thanksgiving game. Coach Lopresti of Malden earned his first Thanksgiving win. 2008: Nick Hoyt’s foot made the difference in the 2007 game when he kicked the extra point that won the 121st meeting in 2007, 7-6. In this one, Hoyt used both feet to grind out 153 yards rushing and a TD, the most rushing yards for a running back for either team since 2001 in a 33-22 Malden win. The win cemented a winning record for Malden, as it put the Golden Tornadoes team at 5-6 overall. Malden was awarded a forfeit win when one of its non-league opponents was later found to have used an illegal player, so Malden finished 6-5. Medford finished 0-11 and, unfortunately, interim head coach Mike Marchese’s Mustangs became the first team to ever lose 11 games in Medford history. Marchese was coaching in place of head coach Jim Atkins, who was on paid suspension for the second-straight Mustang football season on Thanksgiving Day. Hoyt ran in a TD; junior David Console and sophomore Frankie Dunn also scored on the ground for the largest first-half lead for Malden in 20 years, 19-0. Soph Ronnie Pitterson caught a TD pass from QB Alex Krasco, and Medford trailed, 19-8, after three periods. Herbens Antenor caught two fourth-quarter TDs from Malden junior QB Skakarus Semexant, and Malden led, 33-8. Krasco finished off with pair of TD tosses to senior Jan Lopez for 31 and 23 yards to Jimmy Richardson for a comeback try that fell short. Giovanni Sanders and Mike Sullivan each had two-point conversion scores for Medford. It turned out to be the last Thanksgiving game for both head coaches, as Malden’s John Lopresti retired in the offseason with a 2-1 Turkey Day record in his three years at the helm. Marchese departed when Medford hired a new football coach in the offseason, Rico Dello Iacono, a former Everett High assistant. 2009: Malden made it three in a row with a hard-fought, 13-7 win over host Medford on a crisp, sunny day at Hormel Stadium. This one turned out to be an “Instant Classic” as it went down to the very last play in one of the most exciting finishes in many years. With 18 seconds to play and Medford facing fourthand-goal from the Malden 4-yard line, QB Alex Krasco fired a pass to Giovanni Sanders in the corner of the end zone. But Malden’s Frankie Dunn was there to tip the pass away and seal the win. Both teams came in with different hopes. Malden, at 4-5, sought to avoid having a losing season. Medford, at 5-4, was looking to complete its first winning season since 1998. Malden scored first on a 17-yard TD catch by Ramon Viches from Malden QB Shak Semexant. Nick Hoyt’s PAT made it 7-0. Medford tied it in the second quarter on a nine-yard keeper for a TD, with freshman Isad Dzolota’s PAT kick making it 7-7 at halftime. Malden drove 45 yards after a Mustang turnover for a go-ahead score, four-yard run by Hoyt after series of short passes to Frankie Dunn and David Console. Hoyt’s PAT fluttered away, and it was 13-7, Malden. Malden turned the ball over in its own territory twice in the final four minutes of the game on fumbles after completed passes, but Medford could not capitalize. Malden firstyear coach, Joe Pappagallo, became the first Malden coach in 36 years to win his Thanksgiving debut since Malden Hall of Fame coach Paul Finn’s boys beat Medford in an upset in 1973. 2010: Malden head coach Joe Pappagallo won his second game in two tries at the helm in a 29-0 shutout victory over Medford in Game #123 at Macdonald Stadium in Malden, keeping pace with the legendary Paul Finn in 1973 and 1974. But Pappagallo made more series history when his senior captain, 6-1, 305 lb. lineman Aaron Samano scored the game’s first touchdown on a five-yard “lumber” into the end zone in the first. Little did anyone know this would be the only score of the first half as Malden led a spirited Medford bunch, 7-0, at halftime. In the second half, Malden used its size advantage to play ball-control as senior quarterback Kevin Valley threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Frankie Dunn and then scored himself on a five-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Senior Kenny Metellus scored on an eight-yard run in the fourth quarter. Medford could not get much going offensively, though it did get solid efforts out of a pair of youngsters: a freshman starting at quarterback, Gene Consalves, and junior Nick Olivier out of the backfield. Malden’s three best defensive players in this shutout win were juniors Austin Teal, Withchie Exilhomme and Jamie McInerney, all of whom were named tri-captains for the 2011 season. 2011: This one was all Malden as the visitors might have scored the fastest touchdown in the 124-game series history when junior Ray Sainristil dove on a fumble in the end zone after Medford’s first snap from scrimmage. It was never in doubt thereafter as junior quarterback Jake Martino threw three first-half touchdown passes on the way to a 36-0 Malden win, two shutouts in a row and for the first time in 50 years, five straight Malden Thanksgiving victories (9-of-10 since 2002). It was the fourth time in series history that Malden won two years in a row by shutout, the first since 2002-2003 (12-0, 7:0). Head coach Joe Pappagallo’s Malden team posted the biggest Thanksgiving shutout win in over 100 years, since a 1907 Blue and Gold victory by a 44-0 count. Malden used its size and speed advantage to pile up points for a 28-0 halftime lead. After Sainristil’s fumble recovery touchdown, Malden made it 14-0 after the first quarter on a five-yard touchdown pass from Martino to senior captain Witchevalence “Witchie” Exilhomme and a Martino keeper for two. Malden stayed in air raid mode in the second quarter – Martino to senior Garvin Cius for a 23-yard TD pass, with a Pat DeCicco run for a 22-0 lead. Late in the second quarter, Martino hooked up again, hitting junior Franklin Huynh for a 15yard TD pass. Malden played ball control in the second half, feeding top back O’Shane McCreath, who picked up 87 yards on just 11 carries and became the first Malden SPORTS | SEE PAGE 17

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