HOMECOMING GAME: Malden comeback falls just short as Lynn Classical holds on, 30-28

Three second-half touchdowns not quite enough as visiting Rams pull out the win

By Steve Freker

Malden’s Homecoming Game had “Instant Classic” written all over it. Not to mention it was against the Lynn “Classic”-al Rams.

Down 30-8 – that’s three touchdowns, folks – in the third quarter, the Malden High football Golden Tornados launched what came close to being a comeback for the ages. The game literally went down to the very last play of the game and the final seconds before time ran out on a 30-28 loss to the visiting Rams on Thursday, October 3. Malden went to 1-3 overall with the loss (0-2 Greater Boston League) while Lynn Classical improved to a perfect 2-0 GBL with the win (2-3 overall.

With Head Coach Witche Exilhomme calling the strikes like a surgeon, Malden basically owned the field the rest of the game, scoring 20 unanswered points on three touchdown passes by senior quarterback Aidan Brett. Malden was now within a whisker of the Rams, trailing by just two points late in the fourth quarter, 30-28. With just over two minutes to play and Lynn Classical trying to run out the clock, Malden got a huge defensive stop on a tackle by senior captain Earl Fevrier to give themselves one last chance.

Starting from their own 36-yard line, Malden was back in business and quickly drove 34 yards on six plays – two of them bootleg runs by QB Brett after he couldn’t see anyone open. Brett then found his best friend, senior receiver Johnson Huynh, with a 12-yard reception in the middle of the field for a first down at the Rams’ 19-yard line with 17 seconds left on the clock. The first pass was intended for Brett’s favorite receiver of the night, fellow senior captain Kevin Exilhomme, but it sailed right out of Exilhomme’s reach.

The game then ended abruptly with Classical’s offensive star of the night, Tyren Houen, earning his stripes defensively when he intercepted Brett’s last-ditch pass of the evening at the goal line to seal the Rams’ win.

Malden’s Head Coach Witche Exilhomme had mixed reviews of this one, understandably. “We did not give up, we gave it our max effort in the second half, but we can’t let a well-coached team like [Classical] get off to a fast start like that,” the Malden head coach said. “We have to stop teams early and we have to give ourselves a chance by playing four quarters.”

“We have to do it on both sides of the ball. Defensively we must find a way to step it up,” said Coach Exilhomme, whose team has scored 134 points in a 1-3 start, averaging 33.5 points per game, but has surrendered 126, also over 30 points per game.

Malden did see its offensive passing game show up for this game, as senior QB Brett had his best game as a Tornado, completing 12 of 24 passes for 192 yards and three touchdowns, adding a two-point conversion pass as well. Brett’s favorite target was senior Kevin Exilhomme, who also had the best game of his Tornado career as a receiver, with 7 catches for 144 yards, including two touchdowns of 43 and 73 yards, both during the second-half comeback, as well a conversion catch.

Also key to the game was the two-way play of senior Xavier “X” Coulanges-Blaise, who scored Malden’s only offensive points in the first half. After Malden defensive end Dwayne Saintvil tackled Lynn Classical QB senior quarterback Javon Clayborn in the end zone for a safety to start the second quarter, Malden got six more quick points when Coulanges-Blaise ran back the ensuing kickoff 55 yards to make it 16-8, Classical.

The Rams answered with continued domination with its relentless ground game fueled by Clayborn and Houen. Houen scored TDs of 76 yards on the ground and a 25-yard TD pass from Clayborn, both in the first quarter. Clayborn reeled off a 68-yard sprint for a TD to start the third quarter and grow Classical’s lead to 30-8. The tandem, who were named co-Defensive Players of the Week in The Boston Globe and Boston Herald for their efforts, combined for 372 yards rushing and three scores. Clayborn, a senior, had 213 yards on 16 carries – as well as two extra point conversion runs – and Houen, a junior, totaled 169 yards on 23 carries and caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Clayborn in the win.

Trailing 30-8 in the third, the Brett-to-Exilhomme Connection hit for a 43-yard TD midway through the quarter. A run was stuffed on the conversion and Malden trailed, 30-14.

Malden’s defense – which actually blanked Lynn Classical on the scoreboard in the second half, with a bend and don’t break effort – came up with a couple of memorable stops to keep the Tornados alive.

Brett and Malden stayed hot, this time with the Malden QB connecting with Coulanges-Blaise for a 20-yard TD and making the score 30-20 just before the start of the third quarter.

On the second Malden drive of the fourth quarter came a stunner: Brett found Exilhomme on the left sideline for a long pass from the Malden 27. Exilhomme hauled it in on about the Rams 33 and sprinted the rest of the way for a 73-yard TD pass. For the first time in three games. Malden converted after the TD with a Brett pass to Exilhomme to cut the lead to 30-28 and sent the large Malden Homecoming crowd into raucous cheers.

Unfortunately, despite a huge Malden stop to get the ball back, Malden’s Homecoming comeback fell just short. “We can’t dwell on ‘almost’ and all that, we have to play consistently the whole game,” Coach Exilhomme said. “If we do that, we give ourselves a chance to win every week. That’s what we will continue to work on.”

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TORNADO WARNINGS: Malden is back in action tonight in the road against the other Lynn-based team on its Greater Boston League slate, Lynn English. Malden takes on English at 5:00 p.m. at Manning Field in Lynn… Bigtime high school football fans can stay for the second game of a doubleheader tonight, as Lynn-based KIPP Academy takes on Lowell Catholic at 7:30 p.m. after the Malden-Lynn English game… After tonight’s game, Malden stays on the road for another week: at Chelsea Stadium against the Red Devils on Friday, October 8 at 6:00 p.m. Malden then returns home on Thursday, October 24, hosting GBLer Revere at 6:00 p.m… Lynn English, with a new head coach (its third in the past five years) in Anthony LaFratta, is a surprise team in the GBL, off to a 4-1 start (3-0 GBL). LaFratta has been a teacher at Lynn English for seven years and has coached football as an assistant in the past at Lynn English, Wakefield High School and Saugus High School. He is a Peabody High football alumnus… Malden’s defense has been stung by injuries as its two planned starting linebackers – senior captains Mateus Brito and James Hyppolite – have both been out all season with injuries. Brito sustained a broken collarbone in the scrimmage against BC High in August and could be out for the season. Hyppolite reinjured a balky knee in the season opener against Lynn Tech and is also probably out for the season with an ACL injury… With 134 points through four games, Malden has already surpassed its total points scored for the 2023 season (117). Head Coach Witche Exilhomme assumed the dual role of Offensive Coordinator this season along with top assistant Alishaan Moughal, and it appears to have paid dividends.

BOX SCORE

Lynn Classical 30, Malden 28

1         2          3          4           F

Lynn Classical             16        8          6          0          30

Malden                       0         8          12         8         28

First quarter

Lynn Classical – Tyren Hoeun 76-yard run (Javon Clayborne run)

Lynn Classical – Hoeun 25-yard pass from Clayborne (Clayborne run)

Second quarter

Malden – Safety, Dwayne Saintvil tackled Clayborne in the end zone

Malden – Xavier Coulanges-Blaise 55-yard kickoff return (rush failed)

Lynn Classical – Gianni McKay 53-yard run (pass failed)

Third quarter

Lynn Classical – Clayborne 68-yard run (rush failed)

Malden – Kevin Exilhomme 43-yard pass from Aidan Brett (rush failed)

Malden – Coulanges-Blaise 20-yard pass from Brett (rush failed)

Fourth quarter

Malden – Exilhomme 73-yard pass from Brett (Exilhomme pass from Brett)