MALDEN-MEDFORD GAME #136 ON THANKSGIVING DAY

Malden football takes show on the road this week against Medford; for first time in recent memory, Tornado team is the underdog in rivalry game

By Steve Freker

In most years, including this one, Malden High football brings the dawgs out on Thanksgiving morning. For the first time in recent memory, this holiday season, the Tornado team IS the dog – the underdog, that is. The Medford High Mustangs bring a 5-4 overall record into their holiday morning meetup with Malden on Thursday morning.

With a win in Game #136 of the longest continuous high school matchup in national history, Medford could earn a winning record for the season for the first time since the 1990s. This is also the only time this decade – and longer – that Medford enters the game as a favorite.

Malden comes in at 3-7 – but with some momentum – after claiming a 26-20 win at home over Boston Latin School in its regular season finale on Thursday, November 9. But despite Medford having a better overall record and the fact the Mustangs are playing at home, the two teams are clearly evenly matched. Even if they were not? This is Thanksgiving Day. It is the final game of the season – last high school game ever for the seniors on both squads – and it’s time to “throw out the records.”

“This is the game that everyone waits for, every year,” said third-year Head Coach Witche Exilhomme, himself a former Golden Tornado three-sport standout and football captain (football, basketball, track). “No matter how the season has gone, everyone puts everything on the line for the Thanksgiving game against Medford.”

There is some history in the making in this game as well. With a victory, Malden Coach Exilhomme could be the first Tornado head coach in many years – maybe ever – to win his first three consecutive Thanksgiving games. Also, with a win on Thursday, Malden will set a new series record with eight straight Thanksgiving Day wins. Right now, Malden has won every Thanksgiving Day since 2017, equaling the previous seven straight mark from 2007-2013.

A win would also tie the series’ overall win streak record of eight straight series wins set by Medford from 1994-2001. Malden has dominated since 2000, going 18-5 in the third century of this ancient game.

Medford is coming off a 21-0 shutout loss to defending Division 4 Super Bowl Champion Wakefield. The Mustangs have been led by quarterback Jack Lombardo and running backs Stevens Exateur and Luiz Barbosa. Exateur and Barbosa have scored nearly every touchdown this season for Medford, which has seen a bit of a rebirth of their offense, averaging just under three touchdowns a game.

Malden has been saddled with a long list of injuries this season, the most notable being the loss of junior go-to running back Kevin Exilhomme, arguably the team’s best player, in the first half of the season opener, a loss on the road to non-leaguer Lynn Tech. Exilhomme, brother of the head coach, was lost for the season with a broken collarbone. Ironically, Kevin Exilhomme was the star of last year’s game, a 34-15 Malden win at Fenway Park in Boston in Game #135, scoring three touchdowns, including running back the game-opening kickoff 72 yards for a score.

Heading into Thanksgiving Day, Malden is led by senior captain Gabriel Vargas Cardoso, a 6-5 split end and leading receiver and scorer (seven touchdowns); senior 6-3, 280 captain and two-way lineman Jerell Calixte; senior offensive guard and linebacker Karl Lange; and junior captains James Hyppolite, a 6-0, 200 linebacker, and Matt Brito, a 5-10, 180 running back. Malden’s defense is spearheaded by senior safety Felix Junior Da Costa, a three-year starter who is one of the leading tacklers in the state – over 100 for the year and in reach of the school record of 121. Malden has used two starting quarterbacks this season: returning junior Aidan Brett and freshman Ryan Bowdridge. Both are expected to see action in Thursday’s game.

Malden Coach Exilhomme said the game plan for Thanksgiving is to keep possession of the ball offensively and lock down any “big play” potential for Head Coach John Curley’s Mustangs. “If we have possession of the ball, they can’t run any plays, it’s as simple as that,” Coach Exilhomme said. “We expect them to rely on their running game and know we have to tackle and not let them have that big run or other big play.”

Malden is coming off perhaps its best game of the year, a 26-20 win over visiting Boston Latin School at home Nov. 9. The Tornados had no turnovers and played well in all three phases of the game. “We have to repeat that type of effort and more,” Coach Exilhomme said. “We are expecting a solid effort from our players and we will be giving it everything we have to get the win.”