On October 16th, 2018, the Malden High Varsity Football Team forfeited their matchup against their longtime rival, the Everett Crimson Tide. The game between the schools was scheduled on October 19, 2018, but safety concerns were cited by Malden as the reason for the game’s cancelation.
The season has been a really difficult one for Malden, as they have battled through numerous injuries and struggled on the field to a winless record this season. In contrast, Everett remains undefeated and have blown out all of their opponents.
Malden High’s Athletic Director, Charlie Conefrey, was one of the numerous people involved in the decision making. The game was canceled due to concerns of Malden High’s student-athletes’ health and their safety. “In the weeks leading up to the scheduled game with Everett High School, our football team suffered numerous injuries (some season-ending) that inhibited our ability to put a line up on the field that we felt was safe,” Conefrey explains.
Malden High was actually not the only school to forfeit their games, Conefrey states, “Three other local schools forfeited last Friday besides us, yet nothing was said about those schools forfeiting their game for the very same reason of health and safety.” Two of those schools that forfeited are Boston City Schools. He stated that the cancellation will have no effect on Malden and Everett’s 100+ year rivalry as, “Our major rival in football is Medford High School and this year’s Thanksgiving Day game will be the 131st meeting between the two schools. We are very excited to host Medford High School and continue one of the longest standing rivalries in our nation’s history.”
While Conefrey was involved with the decision, the final say was ultimately left to Principal Chris Mastrangelo. He says that the decision required “a lot of time and thought” and was not one made lightly. The discussion on whether or not to forfeit started “a week or so before” the scheduled contest.
The factors that led to the decision were the already small numbers of players on the team, especially the 22 freshmen players, which is “a really disproportionate number,” according to Mastrangelo.
There are currently 42 athletes in the football program and only about half of them actually see playing time in varsity games. In contrast to Malden, the Everett football team has 115 players, and their “depth is bigger physically.” There was a major concern about the physical contact that would have occurred, since the number one priority is safety, and Mastrangelo says that he “had to take a step back” and question if he could “guarantee that [he is] not putting [the] players in a position to be injured.”
Realizing that he could not guarantee their safety, Mastrangelo, Conefrey, and the coaching staff reached out to Everett a week before the scheduled match and voiced their concerns. After seeing the number of players “dwindle down” even further due to injuries in the Peabody game, they met with Everett on the Friday and Saturday before the game to officially forfeit the game. The decision was also brought up to the superintendent, John Oteri. Mastrangelo says that he was “supportive” due to the decision being made with “the students’ safety in mind.”
Going further about the issue with the lack of players on the team, Mastrangelo says that the “depth was not there” when it came to the number of kids being able to play each position. In football, even 50 players on the team is “a little on the lower end” because the play is “eleven on eleven, times three programs (freshman, JV, varsity teams) and not every kid plays both offense and defense,” along with the “22 positions in a football game,” which require around three players a position. For a team like Everett that has 115 players, that means that there can be “up to seven kids in every position.” But, because the Malden football team only has a low number of players, that would mean “every kid has to play the entire game,” which even raised the question of safety even higher.
Usually, for smaller schools that play in lower divisions, the few number of active players is a common occurrence as many players play both sides of the ball for most of the downs in the game. However, for a team such as Malden that plays in Division I, a smaller roster is abnormal and could be a safety issue.
Regardless, many are left disappointed by this decision, especially the athletes. Junior Ishmael Sylus, who plays wide receiver on the football team, is one of many disgruntled players. “They made us look like we were soft and couldn't handle the game when in reality we were all ready to go play,” Sylus explained. The players had no say in the decision which only adds to their disappointment.
Sylus also points out that, “ever since the first game [Sylus] been thinking about playing Everett because that's honestly one of the most exciting games for the year. It’s such a big deal because we’ve been playing them for so long and every year there’s still that excitement. That's the game where everyone really leaves it all out on the (field). This goes for both sides. It’s disappointing to miss out on that this season.”
The seniors on the team have been affected by this decision the most as it was their last chance to play Everett before graduating. Some of the Malden players have taken the decision personally and feel that they have been made to look like they are not good enough to play Everett.
However, Mastrangelo asserts that Malden’s football players “have played hard from the beginning to the end of the game” and that he is “very proud” of the team. “They played hard, they have competed, the players and the coaching staff stayed positive, [positivity] is how you build programs,” Mastrangelo adds. He also states that head coach Stephen Freker has been “doing a great job” at “making sure they are positive and doing the right thing in school.” The good thing for next season is that the 22 freshmen on the team will “move up to the sophomore class,” along with the junior cass, and that the team will be bringing in “another 30 freshmen to play,” so that the team can “start bringing those numbers up,” which will help to improve their situation next season.
Mastrangelo stresses that the forfeit is “not the end of the program, it’s just the beginning.”
