Fernando Jones walked off the field with his first win as Nantucket head coach on Saturday, a 16-8 result over East Bridgewater that opened the Whalers' season at 1-0. It was a low-scoring affair, the kind of game that usually comes down to a couple of plays, and Nantucket made enough of them to hold off a solid Vikings side.
The win came on a day when the Cape and Islands region kicked off its high school football slate, with several season-opening games and a full slate of Nantucket-Martha's Vineyard rivalry matchups across multiple sports. The weather cooperated, and the games went ahead as scheduled.
Elsewhere in football, Sandwich rolled to a 47-8 win over Upper Cape, and the Blue Knights did it with an explosive offense that spread the ball around. Quarterback Damian King threw for 121 yards and two touchdown passes, both of them to Tyler Jones, who hauled in scores of 63 and 10 yards. Johnny Pensak did his damage on the ground, rushing for three touchdowns and 112 yards, while Ocean McElroy added two rushing scores and 138 yards total. Upper Cape's only touchdown came from Aiden DiMestico, who rushed for 55 yards on the day.
Bourne fell 34-6 on the road to Burncoat, a Worcester-based opponent, dropping the Canalmen to 0-1. Nauset lost a closer one at home, 28-19 to Oakmont, leaving the Warriors at 0-1 after a game that stayed competitive throughout.
The boys soccer slate brought its own rivalry drama. Nantucket topped Martha's Vineyard 2-1, improving the Whalers to 2-0 and handing the Vineyarders their first loss of the season at 2-1. The result kept Nantucket perfect on the young campaign. Meanwhile, Nauset played Scituate to a 0-0 draw, taking a point and moving to 1-0-1 on the season.
On the girls side, Martha's Vineyard beat Nantucket 3-1, becoming the first area team to win two games this season. The Vineyarders moved to 2-0 while the Whalers dropped to 0-2.
Field hockey delivered the tightest rivalry result of the day. Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard played to a 0-0 draw, with the Vineyarders moving to 1-1-1 and the Whalers to 0-1-1. Senior Eva Coelho and goalkeeper Eliza Belle Carestia anchored the Martha's Vineyard defense, and the Vineyarders also controlled the midfield throughout the contest.
For Jones, the opener offered a clean start. New coaches often spend their first games managing nerves and figuring out rotations, but the Whalers came away with a win against a Vikings team that wasn't going to hand over anything easily. The 16-8 scoreline suggests a defense that held up when it mattered, and an offense that found just enough to get across the line.
The broader picture across the region is still taking shape. Sandwich looks like the team to beat in the early going after putting up 47 points, but it's one game into the season and the sample sizes are small. Nauset's home loss to Oakmont was close, and Bourne's road defeat to Burncoat leaves the Canalmen searching for answers before their next outing.
The rivalry games between Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard produced mixed results across the three sports. The Whalers took the boys soccer meeting, the Vineyarders answered in girls soccer, and the field hockey teams split the points in a scoreless draw. That kind of back-and-forth is typical for these two programs, which have a long history of competitive matchups on the islands.
Adam Kurkjian covers football, field hockey and girls volleyball for the Cape Cod Times, and reported the results from the day's games.
According to Yahoo Sports.