MV makes quick work of Southie

South Boston couldn't contain quarterback Mike McCarthy of Martha's Vineyard, who threw for one touchdown and rushed for three others. (Jon Mahoney for the globe)

TAUNTON - They came, they played, they conquered.

And then they left. Quickly.

Any big celebration of Martha's Vineyard's 42-14 victory over South Boston last night at Taunton High would have to wait until after the ferry ride back to the island. The team had to hustle to catch the last boat at 8:30.

Although their stay in Taunton was short, they left a big impression. Now, the Vineyarders (11-1) have a chance to win the Division 3A title Saturday at Bentley University, where they'll face Amesbury.

Led by quarterback Mike McCarthy, MV's option offense was too much for the Knights (10-2). In addition to a 36-yard touchdown strike to Randall Jette in the second quarter, McCarthy ran for 122 yards and three touchdowns.

Cody Brewer and Matt Costello also rushed for touchdowns for the Vineyard.

"It's an offense where you can't really key on one person," said MV coach Donald Herman. "Certainly, the quarterback is the catalyst, as it always is in the option, but the other kids, they got in there and made things happen."

McCarthy also praised his backfield for allowing the team to mix things up when needed. He also felt that good scouting played a key role in the outcome.

"We scouted them pretty well, we just had to make the reads on the option," he said. "At first, I was just giving, giving, giving, but then they came down on that, so we had to cut it up the field some more."

The Vineyard jumped ahead with 2:21 left in the first quarter, when McCarthy ran a keeper into the end zone from 6 yards. They forced a three-and-out from Southie, and quickly followed with McCarthy's pass play to Jette for a 14-0 edge.

Southie was unable to move the ball in the first quarter (total offense: minus-2 yards), but snapped out of it with a long drive that ended with quarterback Derick Willis dodging multiple defenders, then lofting a 9-yard touchdown pass to Akeem George. Willis then brought Southie within 6 by breaking a tackle going left, then cutting right and into the end zone for 2 points.

But the Knights found themselves down two scores again heading into halftime.

Relying on McCarthy's ground work, the Vineyarders drove 85 yards after a 10-yard penalty on the kickoff return and pushed the lead to 20-8 on a 9-yard quarterback keeper with 39.5 seconds left in the half.

The third quarter started with Southie turning the ball over on downs at the Vineyarders' 33, which was followed by another touchdown drive.

This time, it was Brewer with an 11-yard touchdown run and Jette made the catch for a 2-point conversion, giving Martha's Vineyard a 28-8 edge, with 2:03 left in the third quarter.

Knights coach Sean Guthrie said his team knew McCarthy would be "the guy to stop," but he also credited the Vineyard's offensive line for making holes time and again for its arsenal of rushers.

"Their offensive line did a great job," he said. "They did a great job fitting up with our defensive line and sealing the off-tackles well.

"We beat a lot of teams that we weren't expected to beat . . . We accomplished a lot, but today wasn't [South Boston's] day."