The sounds of a bloody brawl direct me to the football field behind the regional high school where the junior varsity team is warming up for Saturday. Getting nearer, one cry stands out. “I want to see Balboni get killed!” I quicken my step, wondering whether I’m about to scoop an altogether more serious event.
Martha’s Vineyard junior varsity players, fully prepared to face the Nantucket junior varsity team this Saturday, were frustrated by a late cancellation from Nantucket. Citing a lack of numbers the Nantucket High School announced it would not be able to provide a competing team. “Obviously we’re not happy at all,” said Vineyard junior varsity coach Phil Hughes this week.
For 364 days of the year, the Vineyard and Nantucket sit on their respective perches in the ocean and gaze at each other with casual disregard.
The two Islands may share ocean currents, topography and even a boat line, but beyond that they have little to do with each other.
But for one glorious day of the year, these two estranged siblings shake off their shared disdain and come together for a sporting contest that is part family reunion and part grudge match.
It’s been a season of peaks and valleys for the Vineyard football team.
They shot out to a 5-0 record to start the season and earned a top rank in their division by the Boston Globe. And as if that weren’t enough, a news crew from NBC taped two 30-minute segments that will air later this year during a halftime of the network’s NFL Sunday Night Football program. Meanwhile, Sports Illustrated published a story showcasing the Vineyarders.
The Vineyard rolled over Nantucket Saturday in the annual Island Cup game by a final score of 48-6 in a contest that was easily decided by the seco
The Nantucket varsity football team is a formidable foe.