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HARD WORK PAYS OFF: Malden High football and Coach Exilhomme go to 2-1 after 32-12 win on road at Chelsea

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Zach Pan, Felix Da Costa and James Hyppolite lead Malden defense past the Red Devils; Tornados back in action tonight, hosting Somerville in a 6:00 kickoff at Macdonald Stadium

  It is not exactly uncharted territory, mind you. Let’s just say it’s been awhile.

  When Malden High School second-year football Head Coach Witche Exilhomme put in his second-string offense with three minutes and change left in the first half on the road against Chelsea High on Friday, it was the first time the Golden Tornados team has been in that position in a league game in some years.

  But that is how it went on Friday, as Malden dominated the Red Devils on both sides of the ball, riding the legs of what is becoming a rock-solid, 1-2 running back punch of senior Mak Coulanges-Blaise (148 yds., 4 TDs) and junior Davin McGuffie (87 yds, 1 TD) on their way to a 32-12 victory. The victory upped Malden to 2-1 overall (1–0 Greater Boston League) heading into tonight’s GBL showdown vs. Somerville High (6:00 p.m., Macdonald Stadium, Malden). If Malden defeats Somerville and improves to 3-1, it would be the first time to have three wins this early in the season in many years for the Tornados.

  MHS headman Coach Exilhomme shared that while he and his team fully expected to win and perform well on offense and defense, it was still quite satisfying to see hard work pay off for his players. “The players who did the best tonight for us put in the work in the offseason,” Coach Exilhomme said. “They deserve to get paid off like this. They deserve to win.”

  While Malden’s offense percolated from the get-go, it was the defense that actually set the tone for the night. Under an overcast sky, wind-whipping conditions dropped the temperature to well under 50 degrees at times. Leading the way were senior co-captain Zach Pan, at defensive end, and junior safety Felix Junior Da Costa. Sophomore co-captain linebacker James Hyppolite also had a solid game for Malden with two sacks and eight tackles. Both Pan and DaCosta had their best games in a Tornado uniform. Pan, a 6-2, 210 defensive end, might as well have been renting space in the Chelsea backfield. Pan registered three sacks: two on the Chelsea quarterback and a third on the main Red Devil running back. All of those statistics came in the first half when Malden was dominating in all three phases of the game. Da Costa also had one QB sack and he, too, had his best game of his Tornado career. Da Costa picked off two passes and also had one fumble recovery on special teams. Malden scored after each of Da Costa’s turnovers.

  “Our entire defensive unit executed our game plan very well. Zach [Pan] has showed real leadership all season long and it was nice to see him in the spotlight,” Coach Exilhomme said. “Felix [Junior Da Costa] is one of our top all-around athletes and he showed it tonight by creating some key turnovers.”

  Offensively, Chelsea had no answer for the running of Blaise behind the Tornado offensive line. Blaise scored touchdowns on each of the first two Malden drives. McGuffie also scored a rushing touchdown as did sophomore Kevin Exilhomme. Two other solid sophomores, quarterback Aidan Brett and split end Nathan Sullivan, hooked up for a 45-yard TD reception in the third quarter. Junior 6-5 split end Gabriel Vargas Cardoso had four receptions from Brett, including a 21-yard TD catch.

*****

  EXTRA POINT KICKS: Friday’s matchup was the first time Malden has played Chelsea since the last time the Red Devils were a member of the Greater Boston League… in 1986!… With a victory on Friday, Malden High football would improve to 3-1 overall and surpass the win totals of the past five Tornado seasons… The last time Malden won more than two games was a 5-6 campaign under former Head Coach Bill Manchester in his debut season in 2016… The last time Malden started 3-1 (or better) was former Head Coach Joe Pappagallo’s last season in 2015, when Malden raced out at 4-0 before finishing at 6-4 overall. That was also Malden High’s last winning football season… With three more touchdowns against Chelsea Friday night, Malden High senior running back Mak Coulanges-Blaise now has scored 50 points and leads Eastern Mass. Division 3 in scoring… In comparison, after just three games, Blaise has scored more points combined than Malden High scored as a team all season… Somerville comes into this game with a new Head Coach – former longtime Belmont High defensive coordinator David Pereira – and a winless record (0-3, 0-2 Greater Boston League). Somerville opened the season with a 42-0 loss to non-leaguer North Quincy before dropping a 44-0 game to visiting Everett and then a 50-6 loss to Lynn Classical at Manning Field in Lynn last week… Two players on the Malden roster will be reuniting with a lot of former teammates at Friday’s game; junior offensive tackle Jerrell Calixte and junior defensive back Felix Da Costa both grew up in Somerville and played all of their Pop Warner football in that city before they both moved to Malden before the start of their freshman years of high school. Both Calixte and Da Costa have played very well for the Tornados so far this season. Da Costa had a very big game in Friday’s win over Chelsea with two interceptions and a fumble recovery.

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Led by the standout play of senior co-captain Zach Pan (shown at left; 3 sacks, 8 tackles) and junior safety Felix Da Costa, (shown at right; 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery), the Malden High starting defense held host Chelsea scoreless and to one first down in Friday night’s 32-12 win on the road. (Steve Freker Photo)
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Second-year Malden High Football Head Coach Witche Exilhomme fired up the troops in his postgame talk following Friday night’s win over Chelsea. (Steve Freker Photo)

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