Sports Roundup: Football, Girls Soccer Earn Victories
David Creed •
This Whaler sports roundup includes a recap on yet another blowout victory for the Whaler football team, a comeback victory for the girls soccer team, and a road match for the volleyball team.
Lombardi’s Three Touchdowns Lead Nantucket To Third Straight Victory
The Whaler football team continued their strong start to the 2025 season in a home matchup against the Blackstone Valley Vocational/Technical High School Beavers – beating them 41-6 behind three touchdown passes by sophomore quarterback Burke Lombardi.
“It definitely feels good but with the top of the caliber of a team we have right now, we could do way better," head coach Reese Everett said. "I mean obviously it looks like a blowout, 41-6, but we could do way better. It's really the little things. We talked about it in the beginning of the season. It's the little things we have to clean up. Penalties and execution all over the field. If we can work on that, especially with this bye week coming up, we're going to reflect on ourselves and then try to get better each week.”
Lombardi had his best game statistically for the Whalers. His best touchdown throw was a beauty down the left sideline to wide out Joao Silva for a 22-yard touchdown pass. He threw two to Silva and one to wide receiver Eli MacIver. But Lombardi’s best throw of the day may have been down the sideline to wide receiver/running back Arann Hanlon (who had over 100 scrimmage yards) for a 28-yard gain.
"He gets down on himself very fast, but he felt like that last game he had something to prove," Everett said. "So coming into this game, he was fired up and ready to go. I think it's a version of him where he's ready to go and let the Cape & Islands know he's probably one of the best quarterbacks out here. This doesn't surprise us. I've seen spurts of it last year, even at the middle school level. I knew he was going to be a high caliber athlete.”
While he didn’t need to have a big day on the ground, junior running back David Guillen-Taveras scored his seventh touchdown run of the year on Saturday. There was also a house call following an outstanding hit by MacIver on a Beaver receiver that popped the ball out and into the hands of middle linebacker Jeremy Jenkinson, who returned it for a touchdown.
"My position group is the defensive backs so I'm working with safeties, I'm working with corners, and that's just something I've been coaching up for the past three years," Everett said. "I'm not looking for a big play all the time, but if you're in a situation to make a big hit, why not? I think Eli delivered today.”
Senior wide receiver/running back Canton Jenkinson scored late to make it 41-6.
The Whalers are now 3-0 this season and have outscored their opponents (Cardinal Spellman, Carver, and Blackstone Valley) by a combined score of 125-14. They will have a bye week coming up before they begin league play on October 3rd against the Falmouth Clippers on the road at 4 p.m. Everett said he is looking forward to using this week off from games to work on the fundamentals and prepare his team for the second half of the season.
“I think we're in a good spot right now, especially the way our schedule work right now, this bye week couldn't have them in a better spot," Everett said. “Like I said earlier, we're going to take this time to reflect on ourselves, go back in and really take a deep dive of who we are and who we want to be. We have signs of going really far in a playoff run. But again, they have to want it. The best teams that play football are player-led.”
Girls Soccer Completes Thrilling Comeback Against Abington
The Whaler girls soccer team fell into a 2-0 hole in the first half of their matchup Saturday morning against the Abington Green Wave on the island, but were able to find their footing and piece together an excellent second half that resulted in four unanswered goals to earn a 4-2 victory.
"I wish we could turn it on a little sooner," head coach Doug LeBrecht said. "We went down 2-0 at the half but were able to turn it around. Allyson (Escobar) started that. She had a couple dynamite, lights out saves in the back and then carried the ball and everybody fed off that.”
Emma Woodbury scored the first goal, followed by two goals off the foot of Myah Johnson, and Chelsea Gross sealed the deal with a goal late in the game’s final minutes. Johnson now has three goals in the past two games.
"Harper (LeBrecht) started having a good game and winning like 80 percent of all the balls in the middle," LeBrecht said. "Gabby (Nikolova) was winning almost everything in the back. She's her and Alice have been great back there.”
LeBrecht said the come-from-behind victory says a lot about his group and their ability to overcome adversity – something that should help them as the season progresses.
“I think that was a great halftime speech of like, let's turn this around and let's play for each other, not for anybody else," LeBrecht said.
Nantucket is now 2-3-2 this season and their next game is scheduled for Monday, September 22nd on the road against the Sturgis West Navigators at 3 p.m. You can view more photos from the football game and girls soccer game here.
Volleyball Loses To Abington
The Whaler volleyball team was on the road Saturday morning taking on the Abington Green Wave and lost 3-0. Viki Bozhkova had a team-high seven aces. Nantucket is now 1-4 this season and will try to earn their second win of the season when they host the Sturgis West Navigators on Monday, September 22nd at 3:30 p.m.
SCHEDULE AHEAD:
Monday, September 22nd:
The volleyball team will be at home playing the Sturgis West Navigators at 3:30 p.m.
The girls soccer team will be on the road playing Sturgis West at 3 p.m.
The golf team will be on the road playing St. John Paul II at 3:30 p.m.
Tuesday, September 23rd:
The golf team will be at home playing Dennis-Yarmouth at 3:30 p.m.
For more Whaler sports coverage, photos, and updates, follow the Current Sports Instagram page here.