Gabriela Parini Cordova contributed to this article.
On Thursday, October 9th, the Malden Tornados suited up to host the 2-2 Lynn English Bulldogs. Malden had lost their two prior games to Northeast Metro RVT and Lynn Classical and was striving to get back to winning.
The game started exceptionally well for Malden when senior safety and return man Matthew Candelario Da Costa was able to return the opening kickoff for 32 yards, setting Malden at Lynn English’s 38-yard line. However, momentum swiftly changed after sophomore running back, linebacker, and Captain Jayden McGuffie fumbled the ball on the opening play, which Lynn English recovered at their own 30.
On Lynn’s first play of the game, Malden was able to force a sack on first down, but Lynn responded with a quick out route pass on second down for a gain of seven. This led to a run down the middle on third down that was stopped early for a gain of one yard. This set up the first fourth down of the game; however, an encroachment penalty on Malden before the play was enough to move the chains.
Following this, Lynn English’s offense started to pick up steam, with a 16-yard read option run by the quarterback on first and ten, a QB draw for six yards on the following first and ten, and another QB draw for six yards on second down, then a handoff for eight yards on first and ten. This set up second and two from Malden’s 25-yard line, where the quarterback took another read option play to the outside, where he couldn’t be caught, for the first six points of the game. A QB draw for the two-point conversion followed.
After going down by eight, five minutes into the game, the Tornados were tasked with responding. Another 30-yard return by Candelario Da Costa to Lynn’s 35-yard line set Malden up nicely to counter; however, after a series of runs by McGuffie and quarterback Captain Billy Gavin to get Malden to the 21-yard line, Malden turned over the ball after Gavin fumbled the ball at the nine-yard line on a QB run.
Lynn started off the drive with an inside hand-off to the running back that was stuffed for no gain. They returned to the read option on the following second and ten for nine yards by the QB. Then on third and one, they ran a QB draw to pick up one yard, enough to move the chains. On the following first down, Lynn attempted a screen play to the running back, but the ball went sailing over the running back’s head, for an incompletion. On the following play, they attempted a WR screen, which was blown up by sophomore linebacker Ryann Vieira and senior linebacker and Captain Kenny Turcios Meigar.
This forced Lynn into a third and long early in the drive, which was made longer after a five-yard false start penalty was called on Lynn’s slot receiver.
On third and 14, the Bulldogs looked to the air and completed a 17-yard pass play to move the chains and keep the drive alive. Lynn’s next two plays were an incomplete pass and a run for no yardage, which set up another crucial third and long for Lynn English. On third down, Lynn returned to the read option, this time handing it off to the running back, who was quickly wrapped up by senior edge lineman, Waslin Etienne, and McGuffie for a loss of four. It looked as if Lynn would be forced to punt until directly after the play, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was called against Malden, a 15-yard penalty that again reset the downs for Lynn.
With another fresh set of downs, Lynn looked to push the pace of the slow drive with a bubble screen to the running back, who caught it five yards behind the line of scrimmage and carried it 25 yards after the catch for a gain of 20. Another 15 yards was added near the end of the play after another 15-yard penalty was called against Malden, which set Lynn up at Malden’s 25-yard line. On the next play, Lynn English returned to the run with a QB draw that went through the middle to the outside for the touchdown; however, a holding call against Lynn English brought the ball back to the spot of the foul at the 21-yard line and saved Malden from going down by 14 for the time being.
Second down was another running back hand-off that was completely blown up early by senior defensive left tackle, Jahiem Francillon, and junior linebacker Jamaurie Brown for a loss of four. This set up second and nine, where another false start made it second and 14 from the 29-yard line. Facing second and long, Lynn went back to the air where they found the open streak down the line for the second touchdown of the game, followed by a running back counter to make the score 16-0.
On the kickoff after the score, Lynn looked to add to the advantage with an onside kick attempt that was unsuccessful and recovered by Malden at their 41. With the score being 16-0 with 7:41 minutes left in the half, Malden knew they needed to respond with this drive, which is exactly what they did. On the first and only play of the drive, McGuffie took a hand-off through the middle all the way into the endzone for a massive 49-yard touchdown to make the score 16-6.
After an unsuccessful two-point, Malden tried an onside kick of their own that was recovered successfully to put the offense back on the field at the 49-yard line. Malden looked to waste no time on this drive, opening with a five-yard hand-off for McGuffie, followed by the first pass attempt for Malden in this game, with a 22-yard corner route reception by senior wide receiver, cornerback, and Captain Manny Perez, who is also a reporter for The Blue and Gold. After that, Malden had first and goal at the nine, where they handed the ball off to McGuffie for a carry of six, before punching it in the next play for another Malden touchdown. After a successful two-point conversion, the score was 16-14 with 4:45 minutes left in the half.
The Tornados attempted another onside kick that floated straight to Candelario Da Costa’s hands but was dropped, causing the Bulldogs to gain possession at their 48. After Malden’s two quick scores in succession, Lynn was eager to regain the momentum, starting with a five-yard read option play for the QB, then a big 27-yard run play to get Lynn to the 15-yard line by their running back. After a Malden timeout, Lynn had first and ten at Malden’s 15-yard line, where they ran a play action pass and the QB rolled out of the pocket to the right before finding the open slot receiver over the middle for another Lynn English touchdown. They then ran a QB draw for two to make the score 24-14 with 3:00 remaining in the half.
Another onside kick followed, this time being returned for eight yards by senior defensive tackle and left guard Ismail Elbahlawan. With three minutes left in the half, Malden knew they had enough time to score and aimed to move the chains quickly. On the first play of the drive, Malden built up a streak that was caught at the nine by sophomore wide receiver and cornerback Nathan Schonton, but dropped as he made contact with the ground, resulting in an incompletion on first down.
After a false start before 2nd down, Malden went straight back to the air with a post route over the middle caught by Perez to move Malden up 19 yards. On first and ten from the 28, Malden went to the air a third time on a corner route for Perez that was broken up ten yards away from the endzone; however, pass interference on the Lynn English cornerback brought Malden up to the spot of the foul at the ten-yard line. Malden kept the ball in the air on first and goal with a fade route to Perez that was dropped in the endzone. After this, Malden returned to their signature run game with an eight-yard run by McGuffie on second and goal, before walking in untouched on third goal for another Malden touchdown. This was followed by a successful two-point conversion to make the score 24-22 with 1:20 minutes left in the half.
After a deep kick into the endzone by Melgar, Lynn was unable to do much with the ball, leading to halftime. In this close game, the run games for both teams have been the most impactful, with McGuffie recording three rushing touchdowns in the first half.
The opening kickoff of the third quarter was caught at the 15 by Lynn and returned to the 23, where Lynn began their drive. This drive really made the Bulldogs focus on dominating the game through the run. On first and ten, Lynn ran a QB draw up the middle for a gain of nine, before another QB drew on second down for a gain of one to move the chains. This was followed by two chunk plays in succession for Lynn, with a hand-off up the middle for a gain of 13 on first down, and a read option run by the QB for 12 yards on the following first down.
After a Malden timeout, the Bulldogs returned to the ground game with a three-yard gain on a hand-off on first down. They then tried mixing it up by throwing a quick slant over the middle; however, it became incomplete after slipping through the receiver’s hands. After this, Lynn returned to the run with a QB draw up the middle for 11 yards on third and seven. Lynn continued to force the ball downfield with the run on first down from Malden’s 30 with a QB draw for seven yards, then a hand-off for a gain of eight on third down. On the following first down, Lynn ran a read option for the QB to the outside, where freshman linebacker and running back Arthur Sewell made a crucial tackle to stop Lynn for a gain of nothing.
However, this wasn’t enough to stop Lynn’s determination. On second and ten, they ran a QB draw for a gain of five, then a hand-off for another gain of five to make it first and goal from the four-yard line. On first and goal, the Bulldogs handed the ball off up the middle to add six to their lead. After a successful two-point, the game was 32-22.
Malden’s second-half opening drive would begin at their 49 after a squib kick by Lynn was downed there. On the first play, McGuffie was able to break away for a chunk play of 20 yards, but was brought back for a holding play, which set Malden back ten yards for a loss of ten to make it first and ten at their 39. After runs on downs 1-3, McGuffie was able to make it fourth and four, a crucial down to keep Malden in the game. Malden would elect to go for the fourth, on which they handed the ball off to McGuffie once again, who was able to break through for a gain of 9 to maintainMalden’s offense on the field. On first down, Malden went back to the ground with a three-yard hand-off for McGuffie, before attempting a pass on second and seven for Perez on a post over the middle that he dropped after getting hit. Malden returned to McGuffie with a seven-yard run on third and seven but was brought down inches behind the first down, setting up another crucial fourth down for Malden. On fourth and inches, late in the third quarter, Malden handed the ball off to McGuffie, who was able to break past the line for an additional six yards, bringing the end of the third quarter.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, on first and ten from the 20-yard line, Malden dialed up a fade route to Perez, who was on an island against a Lynn cornerback. After getting a separation following the snap, Perez was able to haul in Malden’s third touchdown to put them back within striking distance of Lynn. After a successful two-point conversion, the score was 32-30, seven seconds into the half.
On the kickoff after the touchdown, Malden was flagged for a false start. This caused the kick to be taken at the 35 instead of the 40. The ball was kicked deep and received at Lynn’s 20, and was returned to their 49-yard line. Lynn planned to dominate the game on the ground. After a four-yard carry on first and ten for the RB, Lynn ran with the QB to the outside for a 14-yard gain. They then followed this with a hand-off for nine yards, then a QB draw for another nine, forcing Malden to burn their second timeout.
On first and ten from the 13, Lynn handed the ball off for a gain of ten. A false start before the following play made it first and goal from the eight-yard line. On first and goal, Lynn handed the ball off to the running back, who shook off multiple tackles to get the touchdown for Lynn. The following two-point conversion made the score 40-30 with 8:44 minutes left in the game.
With their backs against the wall, Malden knew this drive would make or break. They opened first and ten with a two-yard run for McGuffie, followed by Malden’s last timeout. On second and eight, Gauvin looked for Perez again over the middle, but the catch was dropped. This set up third and eight, where the Tornados looked to pass the ball again; however, Gauvin was met with no options downfield, he elected to scramble and was able to pick up four yards, which made it to fourth and four. With any chance at a late comeback on the line, the Tornados looked to McGuffie, who was stopped just a yard short, making it a turnover on downs.
With their next drive, Lynn drained nearly five minutes off the clock with exclusive runs before punching it in on first and goal from the nine to make the score 46-30. On the following drive, Malden was stopped once again on fourth down, allowing Lynn to end the game with a knee-deep in their territory.
This loss brought Malden to a record of 1-5. The Tornados look forward to taking down another GBL rival in Chelsea the following week, hoping to get their winning streak back.
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