THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, December 2, 2022 Page 17 Tornado wide receiver Kevin Exilhomme carries the ball all the way to the end zone as teammate James Hyppolite celebrates at Fenway Park. the left sideline (first-base side) right in front of the Fenway fans. Medford does not lie down, cuts lead with two TDs This time it was the Medford fans’ turn to explode as Exateur found a seam and exploited it, zigging once toward the center of the field and then outrunning everyone for a 62-yard kickoff return touchdown. Matt Wright’s PAT kick made it 22-7, Malden just seconds into Half Number Two. Let the Medford comeback begin! After Medford’s “D” answered by holding Malden to a three-and-out, the “Hey, wait a minute...” rumblings began in the stands and on the sideline. Later in the quarter, after some sleepy Malden offense and some livelier responses by the Mustang offense later on, the Medford comeback became 100% official. On the first play of the fourth quarter, after Brett was forced to punt from his own end zone and gave Medford the ball at the 31-yard line, Mustang Luiz Barbosa broke free on what looked like a simple off-tackle run and sprinted 29 yards for a Medford touchdown. Dom Rizzo’s two-point conversion run made it 22-15, and any thoughts of an easy road to this win for Malden evaporated into the cool but seasonal Fenway air. “They [Medford] had played us even for a good part of the first half and then were hanging in there in the third quarter,” said Coach Exilhomme. “It was up to us to take back control of the game. Our offensive line and our defense had gotten us the lead early; we needed those guys to step up again.” Step up, they did. The defense caused another fumble on Medford’s next possession, again by Karl Lange. But Malden went out quickly on three runs and a couple of penalties. “Da Costa Time” again with a key pass interception Two plays later, it was “Da Costa Time” again as Malden’s junior safety picked off a pass for his second turnover of the day against Medford and gave Malden another boost. Malden switched it up on this drive, with Brett (12-of-21, 124 yards, 1 TD, O INT) hitting three different receivers: McGuffie for 12, Paulding twice for 17 and then a big one, 6-5 junior Gabriel Vargas Cardoso for a 28-yard completion to the Medford 4-yard line to set Malden up at first-andgoal. After a penalty and another run play, Kevin Exilhomme scored his third touchdown of the game, a counter run over the left side for a 28-15 lead. Malden’s defense amped it up the rest of the way, led by McGuffie at cornerback, who came up with several big stops despite being hampered by an ankle he banged up on the very first series of the game, and sophomores Matheus Brito and captain James Hyppolite at linebacker, both of whom played standout defense. Brito had his best game of the season with five tackles, one of them a sack, in the second half alone. With Malden clearly in command, another Medford turnover (four on the game) led to one of the most entertaining plays of the game. Malden defensive lineman Joey Fils, the Malden defenders were all over the Medford offense as Tornado Matt Brito wraps up a Medford player for a fumble. 6-0, 285 tackle, who also had a great game at Fenway – and a superb season overall anchoring the line both ways – recovered a Medford fumble at midfield. Malden went back, and after a couple of Exilhomme runs and a key third down-and-7, Brett-to-Vargas Cardoso completion on a slant pattern from the left side for 13 yards, Malden got back into the red zone. Some Brett-to-McGuffie “Razzle Dazzle” for a TD Two plays later, Malden’s Brett ushered some good old-fashioned “Razzle Dazzle” into the game when he handed off to Exilhomme, who in turn handed off a reverse to Avalos, who then completed a “Flea Flicker” toss back to the QB. Brett escaped one tackle attempt and scrambled to nearly the right sideline before catching sight of a wideopen Mcguffie in the end zone. From a near-impossible angle, Brett fired a sidearm missile that nearly went more than six feet off the ground, right to Mcguffie’s cradling arms for a 15-yard touchdown and a 34-15 lead with under five minutes to play. Medford’s last possession fell short, and Malden’s coaches showed why this is customarily a classy series when the Golden Tornados drove all the way inside the Mustang 5-yard line but elected to take the Victory Formation knee instead of trying to score again. All that was left was the handshake right around the outskirts of Red Sox outfield and the Malden captains drenching Coach Exilhomme with the victory “bath.” What a night in Fenway! Memories forever for Malden players, coaches, fans and alumni. Mayor Gary Christenson gives a thumb-up while holding the Thanksgiving Day trophy, as he celebrates with city councillors Peg Crowe, Barbara Murphy and MHS Athletic Director Charlie Confrey following Malden High’s victory at Fenway Park last Tuesday. Tornado junior wide receiver Davien Mcguffie carries the ball thanks to some nifty blocking by Kyle Paulding during las Tuesday’s Thanksgiving battle against Medford at Fenway Park. Malden High fans’ pride was on full display for the media at Fenway Park on Tuesday. The Malden High School Golden Tornadoes Varsity Football Cheerleaders at Fenway Park The high-flying and talented MHS Football Cheerleaders in action. (Advocate photos by Paul Hammersley)
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