Strong defense, improved second half enough for win

In front of packed stands and a cheering crowd, the MVHS football team faced off against Lynbrook High School for the Homecoming game on Oct. 12. The Matadors defeated the Vikings by a final score of 21-14 for their first-ever Homecoming game on the new field with a strong second half that took the lead away from the Vikings.

The game started with the Matadors on offense. An 89-yard kick return by senior Peter Stern resulted in the first touchdown of the night on the first play of the game to give the Matadors an early lead. The Vikings, however, were able to prevent the one point conversion to keep the score at 6-0.

With MVHS then on defense, the Vikings responded by making runs of their own. LHS quarterback senior Gabe Wagner-Rosales scored an 11-yard rushing touchdown and LHS senior Denis Nakelchik’s attempt at an extra point was successful, putting the Matadors one point behind with the score at 6-7 at the end of the first quarter.

Throughout the second quarter, the Matadors struggled both offensively and defensively. Junior Justin Cena fumbled and the ball was recovered by LHS at their own 8-yard line; the Vikings made an 83-yard run but MVHS’ defense did not let them score.QB senior Nathan Facciolla was then able to make a 26-yard run, but an interception brought the ball back to the 1-yard line for LHS. Wager-Rosales and Nakelchik struck again with two minutes left in the first half with a 1-yard rushing touchdown and another successful point after touchdown, dropping the Matadors down to a 14-6 deficit.

As the team exited after the first half, the Marquesas dance team, color guard and marching band took the field for a halftime performance while the class winners of Homecoming week were announced. The Homecoming court was also introduced, and seniors Thomas Barber and Cathy Ang were crowned Homecoming king and queen.

The Matadors took this time to regroup, returning with a stronger strategy and significantly improved defense.

“We didn’t play extremely well [in] the first half. We fumbled the ball, put the ball on the ground too many times,” head coach Jeff Mueller said. “[But] we told the kids at halftime, ‘You win the second half, you win the game.'”

Facciolla’s 20-yard rushing touchdown and junior William Major’s conversion then gave the Matadors seven points to put the score at a close 13-14. Though the Vikings were still ahead by a point, strong defense in the third quarter, including a sack by senior Omar Naguib, kept the Matadors in the game.

Later in the third quarter, a holding penalty on the Matadors brought back nearly 50 yards on a punt return, drawing boos from the MVHS crowd. Facciolla then ran the ball into the endzone, but a second holding penalty on the play brought the Matadors back and discounted the touchdown, much to the disappointment of the crowd.

Going into the fourth and final quarter, the MVHS players clearly performed better. Solid defense by the Matadors forced LHS to punt, and the Vikings were unable to score. A 25-yard run by Facciolla followed by a 4-yard run by senior Peter Stern allowed the Matadors to score, and Facciolla rushed for a 2-point conversion to give the Matadors a 21-14 lead with 7:42 remaining on the clock. This made it a one possession game; if LHS had scored and gone for the kick, it would have been a tied game.

However, Facciolla, who had been the quarterback up until this point in the game, was injured during the play and was replaced by QB junior Ryan Manley. Manley and running back Cena showed improved offense for the Matadors with multiple runs by Cena, though the Matadors were unable to score; MVHS’ defense was better as well, as an interception by Major at the 17-yard line prevented the Vikings from scoring.

With just several seconds left on the clock, the Matadors focused on holding off the Vikings. LHS’ last offensive attempt was stopped with an interception by Stern as the clock buzzed, ending the game with a 21-14 victory for the Matadors.

“It would have been better to be steady through the game and put up a huge point difference,” Stern said. “But I’m glad we came back because it shows that we’re a comeback team and we’re never down and we’re never out.”