Page 16 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, December 6, 2019 Malden blanks Medford, 29-0, on Thanksgiving Day Senior captains Mervil, Youman, Maxis and Sylus lead way I n an annual Thanksgiving tradition, the Malden Golden Tornados faced off against the Medford Mustangs for the 132nd Malden was victorious with a score of 29-0. time, this year at Hormel Stadium in Medford. Malden High Cheerleaders celebrated a touch down during the Thanksgiving game Jamari Youman was chased down by Medford during the Thanksgiving game By Nick Toscani T he guys wearing the Blue and Gold definitely picked the right day to play their best game of the year. Despite still another morning of thumbs-down weather on Thanksgiving Day, the Malden High School Golden Tornadoes football squad was all thumbs-up at Hormel Stadium in Medford. Led by their two All-Conference playmakers, senior co-captains Jerry Mervil and Jamari Youman, the Golden Tornadoes dominated the game on both sides of the ball and simply thumped the host Medford Mustangs, 29-0, in the historic 132nd holiday meeting of the two schools. Malden never trailed despite the rainy, windy and cold morning with temperatures only in the 30s. Last year Malden took a win in near-zero wind chill, 15-degree temps at home. Fifth straight win on Thanksgiving for Malden For Malden, it was the fifth straight Thanksgiving football win over Medford, and Medford won eight straight from 1994-2001; Malden has taken over the series, winning 16 of the last 18 meetings, going back to 2002. With the win this year, Malden also made new history. For the first time in 132 games played, a Malden team has won 9-of-10 games in a decade. The only other decade that came close was in the 1930s when Malden went undefeated at 7-0-3. For second-year Malden head coach Steve Freker, who was coaching in his 22nd Malden-Medford game overall, a victory on Turkey Day never gets old. “We are just thrilled for these kids. To see the excitement on their faces when they win on Thanksgiving is just priceless,” said Coach Freker, who was on the field as Golden Tornadoes player in Games #86, #87 and #88 of the ancient series, before coaching in the game from 1981-1998 previously. Malden got some big performances out its marquee players on the seniors’ “last call” game. Mervil scored on a 43-yard burst down the right sideline on a quick out pass from sophomore quarterback Shawn Bartholomew on Malden’s first play from scrimmage in the second half to give the visitors a 15-0 lead that loomed mighty large considering how well the Blue and Gold defense was playing. Sensational day for Malden’s Mervil on Turkey Day Mervil had a sensational game overall, totaling nearly 180 yards of total offense as Malden’s leading rusher and receiver on the day (88 yards rushing on 12 carries; five receptions for 81 yards and a TD). Aside from the statistics, Mervil’s contributions also set up the other three TDs Malden scored on the day. “It feels amazing,” Mervil said afterward. “It’s just a pleasure to beat [Medford] and being able to be a part of this tradition. It took a lot of practice and a lot of time and effort. We all stuck together as a group to go out and do this.” Mervil's fellow captain Youman, who just moved to Malden this past June from Fort Myers, Fla., had another huge game for the Golden Tornadoes, scoring two more touchdowns. His first score came on a 23-yard end zone catch from Bartholomew to stake Malden to a 9-0 halftime lead. Malden also got key points and a superb game from sophomore kicker Ronald Juarez, who drilled a 35-yard field goal early in the second quarter, after Malden had gotten inside Medford’s 25yard line three times in the first quarter, only to be denied. Twice Malden had lost the ball on fumbles in the rainy, windy weather. Tornadoes kicker Juarez played a key role in win Juarez’s leg also played a factor in a two-for-two PAT kicking day and no less than three end zone kickoff boots. “Ronald [Juarez] was huge. He really helped us win this one. That field goal was three points, but look what happened. It turned out to be the winning ones.” Youman’s second TD was of the game-sealing variety. On Medford’s first possession after Mervil’s game-breaking TD, Youman picked off a Medford pass just inside midfield and returned it 49 yards for a “Pick 6” touchdown, his third INT-return touchdown of the season. “Our best players played their best football of the season on both sides of the ball,” Coach Freker said. “Jamari [Youman] and Jerry [Mervil] have kept us in games all season on both sides of the ball. Both of those guys will play at the next level, no doubt…We threw an excellent mix of our run game and the pass game at them today, and Coach Almquist [offensive coordinator] did a super job putting guys in the right place. Jerry [Mervil] got 30-35 offensive touches running the option at QB or taking handoffs himself, and he was basically unstoppable today. [Soph QB] Shawn [Bartholomew] was on point whether he was throwing to Jamari, Jerry or [Matt] Bessey, and all those guys played very well.” Defense was a big story in victory for Malden Malden’s defense was a big story in this one, especially in the first half where Malden held Medford to only one first down and under 50 yards of total offense. “Hats off to Coach Barbati [defensive coordinator] and Coach Pompilus [defensive line coach],” the Malden coach said. “We really prepared well and it showed. We dictated the line of scrimmage for our second straight game and that was the difference…We had a lot of respect for them. They have some big receivers, and their quarterback is excellent either running or passing. Our game plan was to contain him on the ground, which we did, and also use our secondary to take away the home run bomb.” “We were using new guys in our starting lineup at linebacker [Maxis, senior Wootchy Pierre Rene and sophomore Mackenley Anasthal], and they played great,” Coach Freker said. “Also, our defensive line was phenomenal. [Sophomore] Sammy Solorzano was excellent all day. The other guys were great as well, [senior] Ray Duggan, [junior] Muneer Odally, [sophomores] Davenche Sydney and Saul Lemus, [junior] Jeffrey Joseph and [freshman] Jaylon Barnett.” Mathes’s run helped break game wide open Malden also got super performances from junior Mike Mathes, who busted off a 47-yard run on an option toss from Mervil to set up the first touchdown in the second quarter. Mathes also had several other solid runs as well as a good game defensively. Malden got some much-needed in-betweenthe-tackles running from both senior captain Peterson Maxis, who scored his first career touchdown in the fourth quarter on an 11-yard run, and Anasthal, who set it up with his own runs. “Thanksgiving is an exciting time; you never know what’s going to happen,” Coach Freker said. “We turned the ball over three times today, but we persevered. We stayed the course, just like we have all season, and got the result we needed.”
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