MV High School teams take on Nantucket

7am on a chilly sunday Halloween morning at the Steamship Authority terminal and a crowd of bleary eyed MV high schoolers gathered to board the “Nantucket”, which had been chartered by the school to take teams from Soccer, Field Hockey and Football across the sound to our rival island to play for the Island Cup.

A huge sign created by Monique from “Card My Yard” greeted everyone in the dark, with words of encouragement and friendly reminder to “beat Nantucket”.

The boat was packed with players, families, supporters and friends.  We sat with the cheerleading team as they caught up on sleep, scrolled on their phones or made adjustments to their outfits. Others slept in their cars below deck while some watched the sunrise from up on top deck. 

2 hours later, at the Nantucket dock the teams exited the boat and boarded the waiting school buses to transport them to the Nantucket High School fields.  While some with car reservations drove the couple of miles to the school, other parents and fans walked the short distance through town or brought bikes to make the commute a little quicker.

After last weeks storms it was a pleasant fall day with sunny blue skies, but at the high school the wind picked up making running on the grass fields a little more challenging for the student athletes.    The first games were soccer and field hockey - the girls field hockey bringing the only win of the day for our teams.   The soccer games were all close and well matched but Nantucket pipped the wins for both boys and girls teams. 

The highlight of the day was Varsity Football and a traditional friendly rivalry between the two islands created an exciting atmosphere.    Kick off was at 2pm and supporters from both sides gathered as the teams warmed up and cheerleaders put on their shows.  After a strong start for the MV team  it wasn't meant to be this year for the Vineyarders and they were defeated leaving the Island Cup on Nantucket for another year. 

Hard to compete with the home supporters on their own turf,  the despondent Vineyard crowd left for the sunset boat ride back home and caught Nantuckets Halloween celebration in full swing on main street, and wondered if we would make it back for some Trick or Treating on our own island.  

There's always next year guys!

School buses take the athletes, while some parents brought their cars over, others walked to the High school fields.

Family atmosphere as the boys watch the girls varsity soccer before warming up for their own game. 

A beautiful sunset for the ferry ride home.