Malden’s many miscues mar morning in 30-14 Thanksgiving loss

Medford feasts on six Tornado turnovers, snaps 7-game Turkey Day losing streak in Game #136

By Steve Freker

On so many Thanksgiving mornings, it has taken just one mishap, one slip up, to determine the outcome in the now longest-running continuous Thanksgiving rivalry in the nation. That certainly was not the case in Game #136 at Hormel Stadium in Medford this year. It seemed like the calendars got switched up perhaps, and the holidays got mixed up as well. It may have been Thanksgiving Day, but Christmas surely came early for the host Medford High Mustangs, who took advantage of a whopping six Malden turnovers on the day to claim a 30-14 victory.

The Medford win snapped a lengthy, seven-game Thanksgiving win streak for Malden (3-8), which had been seeking a record-setting eighth straight “W” in the ancient rivalry, which started in 1889. Medford’s victory – for the first time since 2014 – also exorcised some other demons by finishing its regular season at 6-4, marking a winning season in Mustang-Land for the first time since 1997. Malden’s lead in the series was shaved to 69-57-10 overall.

Malden began and ended this game in a giving mode. In the first half it was a pair of costly turnovers, two lost fumbles. One giveaway led directly to Medford’s first touchdown. Malden then upped the ante and then some in the second half, with two more lost fumbles and a pair of pass interceptions, including one on the very last Golden Tornados offensive play of the game, and the season.

In addition to the turnover spree – with six TOs believed to be a negative Thanksgiving morning record for Malden – there was also a veritable avalanche of penalty flags, which stunted and stalled the Tornado squad at every juncture. Throw in a kickoff return touchdown for Medford, immediately after Malden had taken its first (and last) lead of the game in the third quarter, and the Mustangs were very much off to the races.

“Our game plan was to possess the ball and use our size advantage to stop them from being successful with their running game,” said third-year Malden Head Coach Witche Exilhomme, who saw his first loss on the holiday, after a pair of consecutive Turkey Day wins. “We did not give ourselves any chance to win this game with all of our turnovers and penalties.”

“You just can’t come back from that when you keep giving them the ball back,” Coach Exilhomme added.

Medford took the early lead on a first quarter touchdown to go up, 6-0, on a 1-yard plunge by Luiz Barbosa in the first quarter. The Mustangs pounced on the loose ball after a Tornado fumble at its own 37-yard line. Six plays later, Medford was in the end zone for a 6-0 lead.

That’s how it stayed the rest of the first half in a penalty-filled affair that saw Malden flagged nine times in the first half alone (15 times for 174 yards). Medford was no less prolific in the laundry show, piling up eight first-half penalties, 13 for the game.

Late in the third quarter, Malden finally showed some life, when a pair of Matt Brito runs and one scramble by quarterback Aiden Brett ended with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Brett to junior classmate Nathan Sullivan, who was being double-covered. Robert Carvalho Fernandes’ PAT kick was good, and Malden led, 7-6. With 2:21 left in the third quarter, Malden seemingly had all the momentum squarely captured and on its own sideline.

The good times ended for Malden less than 20 seconds later, when Medford’s Stevens Excateur broke free up the left sideline, sprinting 87 yards for a kick return touchdown and a 12-7 lead. The special teams score proved to be doubly costly for Malden when its QB and placekicker Brett got tangled up on the Medford sideline and had to leave the game due to a knee injury. It went from bad to worse for Malden as two of four second-half turnovers smacked the Tornados hard on two consecutive possessions, two more lost fumbles by two different ballcarriers, leading straight to Mustang scores.

Exateur, a workhorse on the day with 29 carries and 142 yards, scored an offensive touchdown for an 18-7 lead just 1:22 into the fourth quarter.

Lost fumble #4 on the day came for Malden on the very next possession. Medford ate up mucho clock time on the ensuing possession, despite having a short field at the Malden 31-yard line. Quarterback Jack Lombardo scored his first-ever Thanksgiving touchdown on a 1-yard dive as Medford extended its lead to 24-7.

Trailing 24-7 in the fourth, Malden wasn’t ready to go quietly, as freshman quarterback Ryan Bowdridge – replacing the injured Brett – found tight end Earl Fevrier for a 65-yard touchdown up the right sideline to make it a two-score game with just under six minutes to play. It is believed to be the first time in the 136-game series history that a freshman Malden QB has thrown a touchdown pass. The Tornados got the ball back and made it all the way down to the Medford 36-yard line before Fevrier was stopped one yard short on a fourth down pass to the right flat.

A 24-yard “Pick-6” interception by Medford’s Justin Marino – with just 1:25 left to play – created the 30-14 final, ending the seven-game holiday drought for the Mustangs.

****

Medford 30, Malden 14

Malden            0          0          7          7          – 14

Medford          6          0          6          18        – 30

First quarter

Medford – Luiz Barbosa 1-yard run (rush failed)

Second quarter

No scoring

Third quarter

Malden – Nate Sullivan, 30-yard pass from Aidan Brett (Robert Carvalho Fernandes kick)

Medford – Stevens Exateur 87-yard kickoff return (rush failed)

Fourth quarter

Medford – Exateur 22-yard run (kick failed)

Medford – Jack Lombardo 1-yard run (rush failed)

Malden – Earkl Fevrier 66-yard pass from Ryan Bowdridge (Fernandes kick)

Medford – Justin Marino 24-yard interception return (kick failed)

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