#3 Mateus Fernandes extends the ball over the goal line for a two point conversion. ~Photos by Lisa Sotir

By Harry Kane and Dave Pereira

Somerville’s big win over Malden on September 20 gave their team a boost in morale. The Highlanders defeated the Malden Golden Tornados in a double overtime game.

“I was extremely impressed with our team’s resilience and perseverance,” said Head Coach Dave Pereira. “There were multiple moments they could have folded, but they believed in each other, and were able to overcome together.”

The first quarter was relatively quiet, with only Malden scoring on a big play from Jaiden McDuffie. At the end of the first quarter, Malden had rushed 88 yards with a touchdown by McDuffie. Their 2-point conversion was no good, and the score was Malden 6-0.

“Our goal all night was to stop #9 Senior Kevin Exilhomme, who is an extremely talented player,” said Pereira. “We put one of our best cover guys Junior Esmael Mack on him all night, and he did a phenomenal job all night. We made sure Sophomore safety Jaxon Smith was there to help him all night. That’s the amount of respect we had for Exilhomme.”

#9 Sam De Souza hand off to #1 Gavin Fucile.

In the second quarter the teams traded touchdowns, with both the Highlanders and Golden Tornados successful on only 50 percent of their 2-point conversion tries.

Somerville’s Gavin Fucile rushed for 28-yards to a touchdown with the 2-point conversion credited to quarterback Sam De Souza’s pass to Mateus Fernandes. Malden answered with a 78-yard rush, and scored a touchdown. The 2-point conversion pass attempt was no good. Somerville got the ball back and rushed 22 yards for a touchdown credited to quarterback Sam De Souza. The 2-point conversion was no good. Malden then answered back again with a 60-yard touchdown pass. The 2-point conversion was good. The score at the end of the half was Malden 20 – Somerville 14.

#1 Gavin Fucile rush between #3 Mateus Fernandes and #16 Kerry Alphonse blocks.

“I cannot talk enough about Gavin Fucile; he’s an unbelievable running back and an important part of our program. He is a tough, hard-nosed, physical runner who does his best work late in games,” said Pereira.

The Golden Tornados got the ball to begin the second half. Malden moved the ball on a drive that lasted over 10 minutes. With 2 minutes to go in the third quarter, Mateus Fernandes forced a Malden fumble on the 1-yard line recovered by Kerry Alphonse. This would have allowed Malden to go up two scores late in the third on a night when Malden running back Jaiden McGuffie was tough to stop. That was one of the key plays to the game, Pereira explained.

Somerville’s 3-yard rush touchdown by Gavin Fucile tied the game 20-20. The 2-point conversion was unsuccessful. 

In the fourth quarter, the Golden Tornados had a 54-yard rush touchdown. Their 2-point conversion was good. Down 28-20 with 5 minutes left, Highlanders were able to drive down the field, running the ball with Senior Gavin Fucile and Junior Esmael Mack.

Sophomore #4 Ryan Louis makes a catch down field vs Malden.

On a 4th and 9 from the Malden 20-yard line, quarterback Sam De Souza ran for 19 yards for the biggest play of the night. From there, Highlanders handed the ball to the 5’10, 220-pound, Gavin Fucile for both the touchdown and 2-point conversion.

“The fumble on the goal line from Fernandes and De Souza’s scramble on fourth at the end of regulations were big plays made by big players in big moments,” said Pereira.

The score was 28-28 at the end of regulation play, and the game went into overtime.

In the first overtime, Malden started with the ball and was able to score, however they missed the 2-point conversion. On the Somerville possession, De Souza was injured on a scramble. Offensive Coordinator Bob Silva then switched to a wildcat offense putting Fucile at fullback and snapping the ball directly to Sophomore Marcos Pineda. Pineda scored on a run to the right, but the 2-point conversion was stopped by Malden.

“Malden is a well-coached team with a lot of talent. They are without a doubt, one of the fastest teams around,” said Pereira.

#1 Gavin Fucile runs over a Malden player for a touchdown in the first overtime.

The second overtime began the same as the first with Malden starting on the offense.  They scored on their second play, said Pereira. However, a blitz by Fucile stopped the Malden 2-point conversion.

On the Somerville possession, De Souza returned to hand the ball to Fernandes and Fucile to score. Somerville needed the two-point conversion to win the game. Going back into wildcat formation, Marcos Pineda plunged into the endzone to win the game in walk-off fashion.

Gavin Fucile had 26 carries for 167 yards with 3 touchdowns. The final score was Somerville 42 – Malden 40.

“I don’t think that this is a game we win in previous years,” said Pereira. “These kids have shown what they are capable of, and the faith they have in each other was an amazing thing to watch on Friday night.”