MALDEN – Malden secured a 14-12 victory over Greater Boston League rival Somerville under the lights at MacDonald Stadium on Thursday night.
This was the first time the Tornadoes had defeated Somerville since the 2023 season. It was also their first win of 2025 after falling to Lynn Classical in its first game. Malden head coach Witche Exilhomme said his team’s familiarity with the Highlanders made preparing for the game easier.
“We do a lot of work with Somerville; they know us very well, we know them very well,” Exhilhomme said. “We expected this, we planned a lot for it.”
Somerville began with a strong offensive drive, having control of the ball through the majority of the first quarter. Malden’s defense fought hard, gaining control of the ball at 3:29, and came back with a vengeance.
With just 2:02 left in the first quarter, Malden sophomore Jayden McGuffie scored a touchdown on a 66-yard run, making the score 6-0 at the end of quarter one.
The second quarter began with a strong back-and-forth between the teams, with Somerville’s Jojo Flores getting its first touchdown on an 18-yard run, bringing the game to a 6-6 tie.
On Malden’s end, McGuffie continued to make strong advances on the field. William Gavin threw an impressive pass, but it fell incomplete. With just 2:43 left in the quarter, Malden found itself on the nine-yard line, and fans in the stands held their breath to see if they would follow through.
Luckily for the Golden Tornadoes, McGuffie would once again deliver with a touchdown with 1:48 remaining in the half. A two-point conversion gave Malden a 14-6 lead it would take into halftime.
The third quarter began with a strong run up the field from Malden, earning a first down early. However, Somerville gained control of the ball a few minutes later, and Ryan Louis scored a touchdown on a 51-yard run. This brought the deficit to two points after the Highlanders were unable to get the two-point conversion.
Tensions were high as the game entered the final quarter. With time running out, Somerville did make some strong passes, but they all fell incomplete. With four minutes left in the game, it looked like Malden would walk away victorious. As Malden continued to make its way up the field, timeouts were called on both sides, and the clock slowly ticked down.
Although Somerville managed to recover a first down with just eleven seconds remaining, Malden’s defense held strong and kept its lead over the Highlanders.
McGuffie finished the day with 236 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. Moving forward, Exilhomme believes that Malden has found its footing and is now set up for a successful season.
“I’m just proud of this team,” Exilhomme said. “I’m proud of the coaching staff, I’m proud of this program and the direction that Malden football is going.”
The Tornadoes will take on Northeast in their next game before re-entering Greater Boston League play. Exilhomme said the win over Somerville gives his team some momentum as they prepare for the rest of the schedule.
“We’re on the right path now,” Exilhomme said. “The home opener was not what we expected; we weren’t prepared for them… To get a big GBL win tonight, that’s very big. The energy is definitely back in the locker room. We have something to build on going forward.”
