There were no vuvuzelas at Veterans Memorial Park in Vineyard Haven when the Island’s U-13 boys’ travel soccer team approached their playoff game on Saturday, but the lack of long plastic horns did not make it that much quieter than the World Cup games going on at the same time in South Africa.

After a string of frustrating seasons, the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School girls’ basketball team has jumped out to an impressive 5-2 record early this season, and could easily be 7-0 if not for a pair of tough overtime losses.

Meanwhile the boys’ basketball team continued to roll this week with an easy win over Minuteman Tech, while the boys’ hockey team lost to perennial powerhouse Framingham on Saturday and Bridgewater-Raynham on Wednesday.

By JIM HICKEY

Vineyard football fans can dust off their cowbells and Harpoon the Whalers signs, because the Island Cup game is back.

After a brief one-year hiatus, the fabled football game between the Vineyard and Nantucket will return this year, scheduled to be played on the Vineyard the Saturday before Thanksgiving. School and athletic officials from both Islands have been busy in recent weeks hammering out an agreement to bring back the game, which was canceled last season for the first time in nearly 50 years.

It was a jam-packed day of sports last Saturday on the Vineyard, as both the boys’ basketball and boys’ hockey teams posted big wins over conference rival Bishop Feehan, while the steadily-improving girls’ hockey team skated to a 2-2 tie against Marshfield.

Boys’ Basketball

Approximately 400 people jammed the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School gymnasium on a bitterly cold afternoon to watch the boys’ take on Bishop Feehan. And they certainly got their money’s worth.

The boys’ basketball team continued to roll this week, improving its record to 10-1 — the team’s best start ever under head coach Mike Joyce.

The team now stands atop the Eastern Athletic Conference with a record of 3-0, and already has clinched a berth in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament, with roughly half a season yet to play.

The girls’ hockey team continues to improve and the boys’ hockey team staged a turnaround to the delight of team coach Matt Mincone.

The Vineyard boys’ basketball team lost 75-62 to conference rival Bishop Feehan on Tuesday, ending an 11-game winning streak.

Earlier this month, the Vineyarders hit a three-point shot to beat Bishop Feehan in the closing seconds. But this week it was the Shamrocks turn for dramatics; they overcame a 10-point deficit in the first quarter and forced the Vineyard into 24 turnovers.

Vineyard sports fans had their fill of home team action on Saturday, with all four varsity winter sports teams playing and a fifth game played by the junior varsity girls’ basketball team for good measure. But there was little joy on a blustery winter day; three of the varsity teams lost and one played to a tie.

The bright spot was the girls’ JV squad, which defeated Duxbury 40-24.

Boys’ Basketball

In their second year in the league, the Martha’s Vineyard boys’ basketball team this week earned a share of the Eastern Athletic Conference regular season championship, with a thrilling and hard-fought 59-55 win against foe Bishop Stang on Tuesday before the largest home crowd of the season.

The team will share the conference title with cochampions Bishop Feehan.

The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School boys’ basketball team defeated a determined team from Rockland at home last night by a final score of 70-62 in the first round of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament.

The game was played before a standing-room-only crowd in the high school gymnasium — it may be school vacation week on the Vineyard but plenty of people are still at home.

The dream season for the the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School boys’ basketball came to end earlier today, as the Vineyarders lost a hard-fought and high-scoring thriller at Wareham by a final score of 92-75 in the second round of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Assocation tournament.

With the loss, the Vineyarders finish the season with a stellar record of 16-4; earlier this week they defeated Rockland at home in the first round of the tournament.