Page 16 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, December 2, 2022 VICTORY | FROM PAGE 1 ately after taking a double-dump of the obligatory, postgame water coolers over his head. “We are also very pleased that our players stepped up to the challenge and followed the game plan so well,” the Malden second-year coach added. “It was very important to us to play a solid game and get this win because we knew how many fans and Malden High alumni, former players and other supporters would be here with us tonight,” Coach Exilhomme said. “They all deserve to see Members of the MHS Golden Tornadoes football team pose for the cameras following their victory over Medford at Fenway Park last week. Tornado QB Brett Aiden prepares to pass the ball downfield as the Tornado offensive line holds back Medford rushers. us play our best.” Malden erased the slightest of doubt that the Golden Tornados had come to play – and play well – on the very first play of the entire game, when sophomore running back Kervenson “Kevin” Exilhomme, younger brother of the coach, took the opening kickoff all the way back up the right sideline 95 yards for a touchdown and a 6-0 lead. Second year in row Malden ran back opening kick for a score Incredibly, it was the second GREAT START: Tornado wide receiver Kevin Exilhomme carries the ball all the way to the end zone following the kickoff AT Fenway Park. straight year that the game had begun in this identical fashion. Medford blocked the Malden PAT attempt that followed, but this ended up being perhaps the only play that did not go Malden’s way for the rest of the first half. On the Mustangs’ first offenTornado Deuel Obdeus gives the stiff arm to a Medford defender for some Malden yardage. sive play of the game, about seven seconds after the kickoff return TD, Malden safety Felix Da Costa made it a “scoop-andscore” when Medford fumbled at about midfield after a short run. Da Costa, a junior and one of Malden’s top impact players on defense all year, scooped the fumble in the middle of a crowd and raced 46 yards, weaving twice to avoid potential tacklers, and made it to the end zone for a 12-0 lead for Malden. (Da Costa, who scored four TDs this season defensively on three fumble returns for TDs and a “Pick Six” interception for a touchdown, added a key pass interception in Malden territory in the second half to stop a Medford drive in the midst of a Mustang comeback attempt.) The Malden High supporters in the large crowd of close to 4,000 erupted in delirious cheers. Senior captain Kyle Paulding rumbled in for the twopoint conversion and a 14-0 lead. The rest of the first half for Malden’s wide receiver by Kyle Paulding has his eye on the ball during last week’s action against Medford. Malden was simple: Game plan, game plan, game plan. The Tornados swore by the “Run First, Pass if You Must” all the rest of the way, eating game clock and letting the much bigger Malden offensive line clear the way for Kevin Exilhomme off-tackle or on-counter runs, or junior slot receivers Davian McGuffie or Alex Avalos on againstthe-grain sweeps off handoffs. “We wanted to establish the running game and keep possession of the ball,” Coach Exilhomme said. “That was what we [Exilhomme and Offensive Coordinator Anthony Pappagallo] decided. We stuck with it, and it worked in our favor.” The end result was 122 yards rushing for Malden to under 70 yards for Medford, no Malden turnovers and, most importantly, the Tornados win. To the Medford defensive unit’s credit, the Mustangs also came to play that night at Fenway. Malden built a 22-0 lead at halftime For the remainder of the first half, Malden played possession-ball a lot of the way, scoring once more early in the second quarter, after junior linebacker Karl Lange caused and recovered a fumble for Malden, setting up a short field goal for the blue and gold offense at the Medford 27yard line. Seven plays later Malden was in the end zone again, and Kevin Exilhomme had his second of three TDs for the game, a three-yard run over right tackle for a 20-0 Malden lead. Paulding took a pop pass from Malden sophomore quarterback Aidan Brett over the left side for a commanding, 22-0 Malden lead with 8:17 left in the first half. Malden would threaten again late in the half, but Medford’s defense stood tall and kept the Tornados out of the end zone, with a Tornados drive stalling at the Medford 7-yard line. Maybe this near-goal line stand pumped some air back into Medford’s tires for the second half, as the Mustangs stole a page out of the Malden songbook and started the second half the same way Malden had started the game. Senior running back Stevens Exateur took a squibbed kickoff off the foot of Malden’s Brett at the Medford 38-yard line and hightailed to THANKSGIVING BOX SCORE Malden 34, Medford 15 Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022 at Fenway Park, Boston Score by Quarters Malden (4-6) 14 8 0 12—34 Medford (2-9) 0 0 7 8—15 Scoring Summary First quarter Malden: Kevin Exilhomme, 95-yard kickoff return (kick blocked). Malden: Felix Da Costa 46-yard fumble return (Kyle Paulding run). Second quarter Malden: Exilhomme 3-yard run (Paulding pass from Aidan Brett). Third quarter Medford: Stevens Exateur 62-yard kickoff return (Matt Wright kick). Fourth quarter Medford: Luiz Barbosa 29-yard run (Dom Rizzo run). Malden: Kervenson Exilhomme 9-yard run (rush failed). Malden: Davian Mcguffie 15-yard pass from Brett (rush failed).
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