The Whaler Football team has seemingly redeemed themselves in the last few weeks with no losses after losing their first two games against Mashpee and Cohasset. The good times of victory that these boys have enjoyed have come at a price. Junior and starting quarterback Darian Duarte suffered a dreadful injury breaking his femur. Darian is missed by his teammates and fans alike.
Junior Kai Ottani remarked about the injured player, “Watching a Whaler football game without Darian is like watching the Patriots without Tom Brady, the atmosphere is there but you can tell it’s not the same.”
Since the time of his injury, the team has relied on sophomore Malique Bodden and backup senior Hunter MacEachern to step up and take the helm of quarterback. The boys have had great results on the road, winning every game after that against Cohasset starting with their 27-8 win against Holbrook Avon on the 22nd of September. The Nantucket boys have steamrolled through the opposition, with the most fierce competition being endured in their match against West Bridgwater in which the Whalers outscored the Wildcats 35-22.
During the highly anticipated homecoming game, the boys pulled together a show for the crowd, and were seemingly unable to stop scoring points against the Monomoy Sharks in a 53-14 final game score. This game included not only one but two kick returns in which Junior Devonte Usher went on to score a 70+ yard touchdown.
Devonte expressed on the game “This Homecoming game set a tone for the season, the whalers dominated and in the face of victory, kept on pushing through and reached for more.” This is a theme that they wish to carry all throughout the season including playoffs. The Whalers have already secured a spot in the south sectional playoffs which is set to begin at the start of November.
Senior Captain Chance Pollack commented on playoffs, “The boys have come together this season and have worked hard to get to where we are today. We have had many tough games in which we had to put our heads together to get out of sticky situations. We will continue to act and think this way through the playoffs as that is what we have done to be successful. At the end of the day, I do not care for how many points we put up; what I care about is how we come together and put in our best effort and that is a mentality that we as a team hope to carry into the playoffs.”
The boys are on the road during their first Playoff match-up against Case High School this Friday and are looking to secure a couple more wins before the highly anticipated Island Cup home game against Vineyard, which is set to take place on the 17th of November.
By Charlie Clarke
Contributing Writer
Veritas 
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