Page 14 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, December 3, 2021 FOOTBALL | FROM PAGE 1 defense and special teams – that newly elected national Teamsters President Sean O’Brien performed the official coin toss. Malden took that tone and ran with it, using some remarkable individual performances, most notably by McGuffie, senior placekicker Ronald Juarez and senior defensive end Lyden Lewis. Malden came into the game Golden Tornados defensive back Makhial Coulanges-Blaise wraps up a Mustang player. Golden Tornados running back Makhial Coulanges-Blaise ran past some Medford defenders during Thursday’s action. as an underdog, but that forecast probably changed in a lot of minds quickly when McGuffie broke through a trio of Mustangs at about the Malden 35 on the right sideline and then saw all green for an 85-yard kickoff return touchdown on the game’s very first play. Juarez booted PAT for a 7-0 lead before a lot of the late-arriving crowd filing in even got a chance to take their seats. That would be all the scoring from Malden for a long time in this game, as Medford’s defense zeroed in on the Golden Tornados’ offensive game and locked it up for most of the day. Medford held Malden to one first down and less than 40 yards total offense in the first quarter and no offensive points. The Golden Tornados football historians are researching to find out if this year’s game was the first one Malden High won in the 134-game history of the series where the Golden Tornados did not score an offensive touchdown. Malden led 7-0 after the first DOUBLE TROUBLE: Malden defensive back Lyden Lewis (#4) and Makhial Coulanges-Blaise (#20) double up on a Mustang running back. quarter as both defenses held the fort for their respective teams. Medford cut into Malden’s lead early in the second quarter when penalties and two tackles for losses by Mustang defenders backed the Golden Tornados all the way back to their own end zone. Malden freshman QB starter Aidan Brett was looking for an open man when he threw a pass to no one on the left sideline. The referees tossed a penalty flag for intentional grounding on the play, and Medford was on the board with a two-point safety and a 7-2 Malden lead with 9:21 to go in the first half. Penalties ended up playing a Golden Tornados quarterback Jordan Rodriguez looks for a receiver as running back Makhial Coulanges-Blaise fakes the handoff. major role in this game, particularly hurting Medford’s chances, as the Mustangs were flagged a whopping 13 times for about 150 yards in penalties, including a brutal four 15-yard personal foul/unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on the day. Malden also got six penalties in the first half, but cleaned it up with only one penalty flag in the second half. Malden’s absent offense continued in the second quarter with no first downs, but the Golden Tornados defense was front and center, continuing to stalemate with Medford’s attack. The Mustangs finally broke through and got on the board BOXSCORE Medford 0 10 again with a drive that started on its own 45 with less than two minutes to go. This time it was a costly Malden penalty which kept the Medford drive alive when a Golden Tornados defender hit the QB Terranova when he was sliding after going down. The Mustangs then were handed a first-and-goal from the Malden 7 and under a minute to play. With only 9 seconds to play on the next to the last play of the first half, Medford scored a dagger touchdown when quarterback Terranova kept the ball for an 8-yard touchdown run. Nazaire scored the 2-point conversion running in 0 0 – 10 Malden 7 0 5 0 – 12 First quarter Malden: Davian McGuffie 85-yard kickoff return (Ronald Juarez kick) Second quarter Medford: Safety, Malden QB called for intentionally grounding in the end zone Medford: Dominick Terranova 6-yard run (Samuel Nazaire run) Third quarter Malden: Ronald Juarez 23-yard field goal Malden: Safety, Medford QB tackled in the end zone by Malden’s Lyden Lewis Fourth quarter No scoring Three well-known Malden/Edgeworth natives: former MHS player Mike Scibelli (Class of 1975), his wife, MHS staff member Barbara Scibelli, and nationally known comedian and MHS Hall of Famer Dave Russo. Mayor Gary Christenson is pictured with MHS Athletic Director Charlie Conefrey and MHS Game Site Manager Steve Freker on Thanksgiving Day at Macdonald Stadium. (Advocate photos by Paul Hammersley)
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