Big numbers don’t add up to a win for Malden football

McGuffie (228 yards, 3 TDs, 22 pts.) not enough for Tornados in home loss to Lynn English, 46-30

By Steve Freker

The numbers were big, but the payoff was nowhere to be found for Malden High football on this night. Malden sophomore star running back Jayden McGuffie certainly did his part, running for over 200 yards and 3 touchdowns for the second time this season — in addition to making just about every tackle on defense (!!) — but it was just not enough for Malden.

For virtually the entire second half, the Malden sidelines carried the booming voice of fifth-year Head Coach Witche Exilhomme — “We need a stop! One big stop!” — every time Malden was on defense. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be for Malden, as visiting Lynn English scored 22 second half points, turning a slim halftime lead (24-22) into a commanding, 46-30 road win.

The win left Lynn English as the GBL unbeaten (2-0 GBL, 3-2 overall), while Malden sustained its third consecutive loss (1-2 GBL, 1-4 overall). It was a game Malden coaches felt was a “must win” if the Golden Tornado squad wished to challenge for its first league championship since 2015.

“We needed this one, it would have put us in good position to stay on track for a league title,” said Malden High Coach Exilhomme. “We just could not get the job done in the second half.”

One of the biggest culprits for that was Lynn English quarterback Shane Knowlton-Simard, who nearly singlehandedly sealed the seal for English. Knowlton-Simard, #7 on your scorecard, may have set some school mark himself with FOUR 2-point conversion runs, nearly equaling even McGuffie’s total with 20 points scored. Knowlton-Simard scored the first touchdown and the last one, as well as the whopping four conversions. The 6-2, 180 senior totaled over 300 yards total offense, passing for 182 yards on 8-of-13 numbers, as well as averaging over 10 yards per carry, 139 yards on just 11 runs. The highly recruited Lynn English QB/DB also got it done on defense, registering 9 tackles and 3 pass deflections for the Bulldogs; he is drawing interest from Boston College, Southwest Missouri and other local and far-flung D1 and D2 football programs.

The first quarter was basically an even-paced boxing match, with Lynn English slugging it out with Malden for a 24-22 lead. Shane Knowlton-Simard scored the only points of the first quarter on a 25-yard run. Knowlton-Simard added his first conversion run for an 8-0 lead.

Lynn English went to the air to start the second quarter, when Knowlton-Simard completed three consecutive passes on a 71-yard scoring drive, including a 28-yard TD pass to Makai Kirk to make it 14-0. The Bulldog QB made it 16-0 with another conversion run.

That may have ignited a spark in Malden, when the Tornados proceeded to go on their best offensive explosion of the season, scoring no less than three touchdowns, all by McGuffie and all on the ground. McGuffie’s longest TD run of the season so far, a 54-yard gallop, put Malden on the board, and the home team trailed just 16-6 when English stuffed McGuffie on the conversion attempt. After a Malden defensive stand, Tornado QB Billy Gavin conducted a 52-yard scoring drive, capped by another McGuffie, this one a 2-yard burst. Malden stayed with the sophomore star on the conversion try, and McGuffie delivered to cut the lead to 16-14.

Neither team was done scoring in a quarter that saw 5 touchdowns and 38 points (both teams combined) go up on the board. Knowlton-Simard threw his second TD pass of the game and the quarter when he found Kassius Chea with an 11-yard strike in the right corner of the end zone with 2:34 left in the half for a 24-14 lead. Malden roared right back with an effective two-minute drill-style response, led by senior captain and quarterback Billy Gavin, who connected on passes to senior captain Manny Perez and McGuffie, setting up McGuffie’s third TD of the second quarter, a 2-yard burst to make it 24-20, English. His conversion run put Malden down just two points at halftime, 24-22.

The two teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter, Lynn English’s Xavier Beauchamp finished off a long scoring drive with a 3-yard TD run with 7:45 left in the third quarter, Knowlton-Simard’s conversion making it 32-22, Bulldogs. Malden answered again, this time through the air, with Gavin finding Perez for a 23-yard TD catch, and a 32-26 score. McGuffie burst into the end zone for his 21st and 22nd points of the evening, and Malden was very much back in business, trailing just 32-28 entering the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, however, the seesaw battle stalled and eventually ended in the Bulldogs’ favor, as Coach Exilhomme’s calls for the one big stop went unanswered and Lynn English kept coming and kept scoring. Two more TDs came to the end zone for the Bulldogs; an 8-yard run from Beauchamp and another conversion by Knowlton-Simard made it 40-28, Lynn English. With less than 4 minutes to play, Knowlton-Simard sealed the deal, scoring his second touchdown of the night on an 8-yard run and a 46-30 lead, the eventual final.

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EXTRA POINTS: Malden was back in action last night, hosting Chelsea in another GBL game (after Advocate press time). Looking ahead, Malden plays at Revere next Friday night, October 24 at 6:00 p.m. before hosting Whittier Tech on Thursday, October 30 (Senior Night for Football and Cheerleaders) at 6:00 p.m. Congratulations to Malden High football Head Coach Witche Exilhomme, who has been selected to the 2025 Golden Tornado Club Hall of Fame for outstanding Malden High student-athletes. Coach Exilhomme, a Class of 2012 graduate, was a three-sport standout and team captain in Football, Basketball and Outdoor Track. He still holds the school record in javelin throw.

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LINESCORE

LYNN ENGLISH 46, MALDEN 30

Malden                                    0          22        8         0          —30

Lynn English   8          16  8    14        —46

First quarter

Lynn English — Shane Knowlton-Simard 25-yard run (Knowlton-Simard run)

Second quarter

Lynn English — Makai Kirk 28-yard pass from Knowlton-Simard (Knowlton-Simard run)

Malden — Jayden McGuffie 54-yard run (rush failed)

Malden — McGuffie 1-yard run (McGuffie run)

Lynn English — Kassius Chea 11-yard pass from Knowlton-Simard (Knowlton-Simard run)

Malden — McGuffie 2-yard run (McGuffie run)

Third quarter

Lynn English — Xavier Beauchamp 3-yard run (Knowlton-Simard run)

Malden — Manny Perez 23-yard pass from Billy Gavin (McGuffie run)

Fourth quarter

Lynn English — Beauchamp 8-yard run (Knowlton-Simard run)

Lynn English — Knowlton-Simard 8-yard run (rush failed)

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MALDEN FOOTBALL 2025 SCHEDULE

Fri., 9/12 — Lynn Tech 27, Malden 14

Thurs., 9/18 — Malden 14, Somerville 12

Thurs., 9/25 — Northeast 42, Malden 14

Sat., 10/4 — Lynn Classical 13, Malden 8

Thurs., 10/9 — Lynn English 46, Malden 30

Thurs., 10/16 — Malden v. Chelsea, 6 p.m.

Fri., 10/24 — Malden at Revere, 6 p.m.

Thurs., 10/30 — Malden v. Whittier, 6 p.m.

Week of 11/7 — Playoff/Consolation

Week of 11/4 — Playoff/Consolation

Thurs., 11/27— Malden at Medford, 10 a.m.

138th Thanksgiving Day Classic