On Friday, November the 4th, the Malden High School Golden Tornadoes hosted the Newton South Lions at MacDonald Stadium, for their ninth game of the season.
The game was the second of a three game home stretch to close out the season. Malden entered the game with a record of 3-5, having just snapped their two game losing streak the week before. The Lions on the other hard entered the game with a record of 1-7, having not won a game since September 24th.
Due to their records, Malden was expected to win the game, and the Tornadoes did not disappoint. Justifying their “favourites label”, the Golden Tornadoes defeated the Lions in dominating fashion, with the score of 42-20.
The Tornadoes offence started the game red hot, scoring on their first two drives of the game. After Malden’s defense was able to force Newton South to punt on the first possession of the game, Malden’s offence was able to capitalize. From just their second play from scrimmage in the game, junior and captain, quarterback Jared Martino scored a 90 yard rushing touchdown, giving Malden a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter.
The defense stepped up again for the Tornadoes, forcing a fourth and inches at the Lion 48 yard line. However, this time Newton south decided to go for it on fourth down. Their attempted quarterback sneak was stuffed ashy of the first down by the Tornado defense forcing a turnover on downs. Malden High’s offence took over in great field position at the Lion 48 yard line.
During the drive, Malden faced a 4th down at the Lion 16 yard line, where they too decided to go for it. However, unlike Newton South’s attempt, junior wide receiver Isaiah Likely was able to get in behind the secondary and haul in a 16 yard touchdown pass from Martino. This made the score 14-0 as the first quarter ended.
Malden continued their dominance into the second quarter, scoring two more touchdowns. Late in the quarter, senior and captain, Joshua Simon intercepted the ball from the Lion quarterback and returned it 62 yards for a pick 6. With the defensive touchdown, Malden lead 21-0 with 3:33 left in the second quarter.
On the very next Newton South drive, junior Marlon Cook came away with another interception, this time returning it to the Newton 29 yard line. The Tornado offence once again capitalized from the turnover, with Likely catching another touchdown pass from Martino. The first half ended with Malden comfortably leading 28-0.
The second half started the same way as how the first half ended. On the very first drive of the half, Martino scored another rushing touchdown from the Lion 1 yard line. This extended the Tornado lead to 35-0. This touchdown essentially ended the game early in the third quarter, as the Tornadoes took their feet off the pedal for the rest of the game.
Another rushing td early in the fourth quarter capped off a huge performance from Martino, both on the ground and through the air. While Malden’s conservative defensive approach allowed Newton South to score three touchdowns in the second half, making the score a little less lopsided.
After the game, sophomore Reginald Charles reflected on how it went. When asked about their fast start to the game, Charles mentioned that “[they] played as a team” and “had fun,” which allowed them to “move the ball easier” as an offense.
The game ended with Malden decisively winning 42-20, their largest margin of victory in the season. It also improved Malden’s overall record to 4-5, and their home record to 4-1.
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