Game of the Week – Football
Taunton, 13 @ Oliver Ames, 12 – Final 1st Quarter: (OA) Anthony Berksza 4-yard rush, 2pt rush failed; (OA) A. Berksza 11-yard rush, 2pt rush failed.
2nd Quarter: (T) Noah Leonard 2-yard rush, XP failed.
3rd Quarter: (T) N. Leonard 36-yard pass to Collin Hunter, John Teixeira XP good.
4th Quarter: No scoring.
Football
Attleboro 14 @ King Philip, 42 – Final 1st Quarter: No scoring.
2nd Quarter: (A) Cam Furtado 2 yard rush, XP failed; (KP) Shane Frommer 35-yard rush, Cole Baker XP good; (KP) Nick Kerr 1-yard rush, C. Baker XP good; (KP) S. Frommer 10-yard rush, C. Baker XP good.
3rd Quarter: (KP) Brendan Lydon 1-yard rush, XP failed; (A) Joseph Llanos 15-yard rush, C. Furtado 2pt pass to Mike Strachan; (KP) S. Frommer 59-yard rush, B. Lydon 2pt pass to Andrew Dittrich.
4th Quarter: (KP) B. Lydon 5-yard pass to Tom Madden, C. Baker XP good.
Milford, 21 @ Canton, 19 – Final 1st Quarter: (M) Will Pointer 51-yard rush, Sean Lehane XP good; (C) Alec Ragusa 1-yard rush, XP failed.
2nd Quarter: No scoring.
3rd Quarter: (M) Jack Felander fumble recovery in end zone, S. Lehane XP good; (C) Johnny Hagan 35 yard pass to Tony Harris, 2pt failed.
4th Quarter: (M) Ryan Pearl 1 yard rush, S. Lehane XP good; (C) A. Ragusa 5 yard rush, Owen Lehane XP good.
Stoughton, 12 @ Foxboro, 13 – Final 1st Quarter: No scoring.
2nd Quarter: (F) Devin Hassett 15-yard pass to Phil Dure, XP no good; (S) Ruben Gonzalez 89-yard kickoff return, XP blocked; (F) Mike Henri 14-yard run, Russell Neale XP good.
3rd Quarter: (S) Alex Iverson 52-yard run, 2-point conversion no good.
4th Quarter: No scoring.
Mansfield, 14 @ Franklin, 13 – Final 1st Quarter: (F) Jake Noviello 28-yard pass to Sean Leonard, Matt Zucco XP good.
2nd Quarter: No scoring.
3rd Quarter: (M) Damani Scott 3-yard rush, Mike DeBolt XP good; (M) Joe Cox 8-yard rush, M. DeBolt XP good.
4th Quarter: (F) J. Noviello 67-yard pass to Ryan Driscoll, XP blocked.
Boys Soccer
Taunton, 10 vs. Coyle & Cassidy, 0 – Final
Girls Soccer
Attleboro @ Norton – Postponed, TBD.
Taunton, 4 vs. Coyle & Cassidy, 2 – Final – Lexi Faria, Alex Wapenski, Angie Lynch and Kasey Colvin scored the goals for the Tigers, helping Taunton claim its first city championship in 24 years, according to coach Edith Dixon. Amanda Pugh, Meg Mazerolle, and Emily O’Gara had assists for Taunton and Grace Pimenta made eight saves.
Field Hockey
Attleboro @ North Attleboro – Postponed, TBD.
Volleyball
Attleboro, 0 @ North Attleboro, 3 – Final – North Attleboro bounced back from its first loss of the season with a 25-14, 25-15, 25-14 win against Attleboro. Amelia Murphy registered 10 kills and two aces while Tori Melanson notched seven kills and two blocks.
Milford, 0 @ Hopedale, 3 – Final
Oliver Ames, 3 @ Bridgewater-Raynham, 0 – Final – Oliver Ames recorded its first win of the season with a 25-20, 25-8, 25-13 decision on the road. Senior Kayla Raymond led OA with nine aces, six kills and two blocks. Junior Sarah Litwack added 22 assists and two aces, junior Sadie Homer had six aces and 10 digs, and senior Emma Petrillo finished with 10 kills and six digs.
Golf
Franklin @ King Philip – Postponed, TBD.
Taunton, 203 @ Mansfield, 168 – Final
Stoughton’s Evan Gibb throws for a first down in the third quarter against CM. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
WEST ROXBURY, Mass. – Even though it’s been a nearly a decade, Stoughton senior lineman John Jolley vividly remembers the last time he found himself in the end zone scoring a touchdown.
He was just nine years old, playing Pop Warner.
Jolley isn’t likely to forget Stoughton’s 28-14 win on the road at Catholic Memorial anytime soon either.
On the last play of the first half, the 6’2, 220-pound defensive end was in the right place at the right time, coming up with an interception and returning it 72-yards for a pick six.
Not only was it a once in a lifetime play for a high school lineman, it was a play that completely changed the momentum, and possibly the outcome, of the game.
Stoughton’s defense held the Scarlet Knights to just 21 yards over the first three series of the game, but Catholic Memorial was in the midst of putting together its best drive of the half.
CM had rattled off eight plays, covering 61 yards to get into Stoughton territory with just five seconds to play. When the Scarlet Knights trotted out its kicking unit for a long field goal, Stoughton head coach Greg Burke used his first timeout of the half to ice the kicker.
With Stoughton up 7-0, first-year CM head coach Brent Williams elected to send his offense back out to try and tie the game on the final play.
Stoughton ended up getting pressure into the backfield and senior Jason Joseph made a huge play, hitting CM quarterback Nick Goffredo as he threw. The ball fluttered out of his hands and right to Jolley, who caught the ball and sprinted 72 yards for a touchdown.
“I saw someone come off the back side and hit the quarterback and the ball popped up and I just grabbed it and started running,” Jolley said. “I was looking back while running and saw my teammates so I knew I was going to score cause they’d throw good blocks.”
“Jolley was there, I don’t even know how far that run was,” said Stoughton head coach Greg Burke. “That’s pretty impressive for a big guy to get down there. It started with the sack and the ball popped up.”
And if you needed any more reassurance of just how big the play was, Stoughton was flagged on the play because its bench ran down the sideline in celebration of the big play.
And in a rare instance, Burke was fine was the penalty.
“That’s high school!” Burke beamed.
That interception was just one play in what was a very solid outing for the Black Knights’ defense. CM scored on its last two drives of the game, but its first five series ended in the following: fumble/turnover on downs, punt, punt, pick six and turnover on downs.
“It was pretty steamy out there, first half I thought we did real well on their run game,” Burke said. “They’re a big tough team, they probably didn’t think much of us. Their quarterback was our top priority, especially on scrambling. The end was a little hairy but we’ve got some tough kids. I was really happy, I thought we did pretty well when they came at us.
“This was a good 20-25% better than last week. We had a couple penalties, maybe. And we filled up some holes better inside. We got lit up a little bit inside and today [CM] didn’t get much inside.”
Stoughton’s offense also had a strong day, with four of its six drives resulting in double-digit plays run. Another was cut short by an interception, and its final drive of eight plays ended with the final seconds ticking off the block.
“That was it for us,” Burke said of the long drives. “If we can do that [consistently], we’re going to win a lot of games. We have to be able to run the ball but defenses have to be able to cover both. We can run our offense out of both sets. We can run pass plays or run plays from both sets so that helps us.”
The Black Knights were set to receive the opening kickoff but CM’s Will Fay blasted his kick off a Stoughton player and recovered the kick to give the Scarlet Knights the first possession. But on a fourth down in Stoughton territory, Alex Sjoquist came up with a strip sack with the ball bouncing out of bounds to give the Black Knights the ball.
Stoughton used a 12-play, 64-yard drive to take the lead. Highlighted by first-down runs of 10-yards and 12-yards by Justin Ly (16 carries, 77 yards), the Black Knights went up 7-0 on an eight-yard scamper by Alex Iverson on a counter play with just 14 seconds left in the first quarter.
The game stayed scoreless until Jolley’s pick six right before halftime. The bench penalty forced Stoughton back on the conversion and the two-point attempt was knocked away in the end zone.
“It was a huge momentum shift,” Jolley said. “If we got into the half tied and they’re getting the ball back, it’s a completely different came. But instead of 7-7, it was 13-0 and it was huge for us right at the end of the half.”
Stoughton’s defense started the second half as it did the first half, forcing a turnover on downs on CM’s first offensive possession. And its offense also had a repeat of the first half, taking its first possession to the end zone.
Ly’s game-long 18-yard run got the drive started early and eventually, Stoughton found itself on the CM 11-yard line. It looked as though Stoughton had a touchdown on fourth down, but an offensive offside call negated the score and pushed Stoughton back five yards.
Stoughton came up short of the end zone on the next play, but did get the ball to the 1-yard line on a pass from Evan Gibb (12/16, 137 yards, six carries, 30 yards) to Ruben Gonzalez (six catches, 79 yards) for a first down. Gibb then punched it in on a sneak and then found Sjoquist for the two-point conversion and a 21-0 lead with 5:18 left in the third quarter.
CM finally got on the board with under two minutes to play in the third, when Goffredo hit Khari Johnson in the flat. A bad snap on the extra point attempt resulted in a try for a two-point that failed.
The Black Knights did a nice job responding, putting together a 10-play, 58-yard drive that took up nearly six minutes (5:57) of the clock. Gibb’s completion of 23 yards to Iverson on a first down surprised the Scarlet Knights and was the longest play of the drive. Sjoquist punched it on an 8-yard toss with 6:41 to play.
The Scarlet Knights scored on its final drive of the game. Goffredo floated one to the left side of the end zone and Franklin native Jarrett Martin absolutely climbed a ladder to win a jump ball for a 24-yard touchdown. CM converted the two-point conversion.
Stoughton then ran eight plays to kill the final 3:55 and all of CM’s timeouts.
“Being 2-0 right now with practically 99% of these kids being new, I’m as thrilled as I’ve been while coaching,” Burke said.
Stoughton (2-0) opens Davenport division play on Friday night when it takes a trip to Jack Martinelli Field in Foxboro to take on the Warriors (1-1).
Football
Stoughton, 28 @ Catholic Memorial, 14 – Final 1st Quarter: (S) Alex Iverson 8-yard rush, Josh Cocchi XP good.
2nd Quarter: (S) John Jolley 70-yard interception return, 2pt failed.
3rd Quarter: (S) Evan Gibb 1-yard rush, E. Gibb 2pt pass to Alex Sjoquist; (CM) Nick Goffredo 5-yard pass to Khari Johnson, 2pt failed.
4th Quarter: (S) A. Sjoquist 8-yard rush, J. Cocchi XP good; (CM) N. Goffredo 24-yard pass to Jarrett Martin, 2pt good.
Sharon, 14 vs. Cardinal Spellman, 21 – Final 1Q: (Sh) Jeremy Ruskin 23-yard pass to Austin Dodes, Mitchell Director XP good.
2Q: (CS) Jack Kingston 40-yard interception return, XP good.
3Q: (Sh) J. Ruskin 95-yard pass to Chris Gong, M. Director XP good.
4Q: (CS) Jovan Marrero 19-yard rush, XP good; (CS) J. Marrero 1-yard rush, XP good.
Stoughton’s Evan Gibb (right) tries to avoid a tackle in the first half. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
RANDOLPH, Mass. – There might be a lot of new faces on the field dawning Stoughton’s black and orange – and at times it certainly showed. But when it mattered most, those new faces made vintage Stoughton plays to help the Black Knights open the season with a 28-14 win over Franklin.
Playing at Randolph High School because of the construction of the new Stoughton High building, as well as a delay in construction in Franklin’s track, the Black Knights looked completely different from last year’s squad.
But a goal line stand in the third quarter that resulted in a blocked field goal, and a clock blending scoring drive in the fourth quarter to ice the game looked like true Stoughton football.
“We just did a hell of a job just to stop them a couple of times,” said Stoughton head coach Greg Burke, now in his 25th season. “We had some screw ups but there wasn’t a lack of effort. And that’s how it usually is with new kids and I’ll take it for the opening game. We had a couple big plays.”
A much improved Franklin squad came out on its first series and made a splash, going 59 yards on 12 plays to take the lead. Facing a fourth and three in the red zone, the Panthers went for and it and were rewarded. Senior quarterback Jake Noviello (15/31, 169 yards,) rifled a pass to junior Sean Leonard on a quick slant for an 8-yard touchdown. Matt Zucco’s extra point made it 7-0 just under five minutes into the game.
Stoughton’s new look offense didn’t have any trouble coming up with a response on its first drive of the season. Ruben Gonzalez (133 all purpose yards) ripped off a 45-yard run on the Black Knights’ first play from scrimmage. On third and goal, junior Evan Gibb (9/15, 154 yards, 4 total touchdowns) fired a bullet over the middle to sophomore Ajahn Rue for a 15-yard touchdown. Josh Cocchi’s extra point tied the game with 1:11 left in the first quarter.
The Black Knights defense came up with a red zone on Franklin’s ensuing drive, forcing an incomplete to end the Panthers’ nine-play drive. After Stoughton punted, its defense once again came up with a red zone stop. Once Franklin reached the Stoughton 18-yard line, the Black Knights forced another stop.
With time ticking away in the second quarter, Stoughton senior Alex Sjoquist (nine carries, 75 yards), ripped off a 28 yard carry to get the drive going. Gibb connected with Gonzalez and Colin Sanda on back-to-back third downs to keep the drive alive. And then on first down, Gibb took a shot to the end zone where Gonzalez was able to leap up between a pair of defenders and haul in a 35-yard touchdown to go up 14-7 with 0:37 left in the first half.
Stoughton wasn’t done in the first half though, forcing a quick three and out with just three seconds left. The Black Knights took another shot at the end zone, with Rue leaping over a defender and hauling in the pass but landed at the two-yard line.
“[Gibb] did a great job,” Burke said. “He had a couple of nice runs himself, which is going to be part of the offense. He’s a tough kid. He made some great throws. I don’t think he got sacked which is good. It’s good to have him back, and [Justin] Ly and [Alex] Sjoquist and Ruben [Gonzalez] and [Jason] Joseph. You can see the guys who have played before, they are just a step ahead.
Franklin’s defense forced Stoughton to punt to start the second half and the offense quickly made its way back into the red zone. A sack from Malachi Hightower-Green preceded a pair of incompletions. Franklin went for it on fourth down and it resulted in a pass interference, giving the Panthers the ball at the two-yard line and a new set of downs.
But Stoughton’s defense looked like its vintage self. Franklin was dropped for a one-yard loss on first down, a two-yard loss on second down and an incompletion on third down. The Panthers’ 22-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Stoughton’s Jason Joseph, keeping the Black Knights up 14-7.
“It was an incredible series for us. And then we get the block,” Burke said. “That’s hard to do. We toughened up there. We still have some problems, and we have to get more guys playing. But every week we’ll get better, this will be our worst game of the year I guarantee that. It was a good way to start, that’s a division 1 team which is good for us.
Stoughton used that momentum to add onto its lead. The offense marched 82 yards on just eight plays to extend its lead. Highlighted by a 30-yard gain from Alex Iverson (six carries, 60 yards), the Black Knights moved into Franklin territory. On third and 15, Gibb hit Gonzalez on a bubble screen and the senior turned on the jets, racing for a 35-yard touchdown and a 21-7 lead with just 0:19 left in the third quarter.
The Panthers didn’t quit though, responding with a nine-play, 54-yard drive to get within one score. Noviello hit Jack Nally (8 catches, 88 yards) to convert the first third down Franklin faced. Franklin found itself facing another fourth down in the red zone, and this time they went to its bag of tricks to execute. Senior wide receiver Evan Wendell took the toss in the backfield but instead of a run, he lofted a pass to a wide open Nally in the end zone for a 13-yard score.
But in vintage Stoughton fashion, the Black Knights went back to the ground game to bleed the block and restore its two score lead. It took 10 plays to cover 67 yards, capped with a 1 yard sneak from Gibb to make it 28-14. The drive took 5:39 off the clock in the fourth quarter.
“When it comes down to it at the end, you have to be able to run the ball,” Burke said. Stoughton finished with 227 rushing yards. “[Noviello] is probably the best thrower we’ll see all year. He was tough, [Leonard] was tough, [Ryan Driscoll] was tough. Those were some tough guys.”
Franklin’s last push reached the red zone again but Stoughton’s Justin Ly came up with a pass breakup to end the drive.
“The scoreboard is the scoreboard, you are what your record is but however this game turned out, I know that we’re tremendously better than we were a year ago,” said FHS coach Eian Bain “We brought a lot back but there’s a special buy in with these kids. Not that last year didn’t, but we’ve had this group for two years and they’ve just kept moving forward every day. They are a competitive group. This game could have easily gone a different way, we have a lot to learn.
“Our kids are getting that sense that they can play with anybody. If we just clean up some things, you know. It’s hard to simulate a Stoughton team in practice. Their team speed was overall better than ours and they made some great adjustments in the red zone.”
Stoughton football (1-0) hits the road to take on Catholic Memorial next Saturday while Franklin (0-1) will visit Milford for a non-league showdown with the Scarlet Hawks.
Stoughton’s Ryan Sullivan (20) carries the ball with Jimmy Tarchara (54) blocking in front. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
SHARON, Mass. – Stoughton head coach Greg Burke didn’t care about the rain, wind or muddy field – he wanted his team to play on Saturday afternoon.
Burke had a good reason as his Black Knights were ready to go from the opening drive and neither the rain, wind or the Sharon Eagles could slow them down as Stoughton rolled to a 37-0 win.
After North Attleboro stifled Stoughton’s run game a week ago, the Black Knights made sure to get their ground game going early. The Black Knights finished with 321 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in the win.
“We had to get our running game going,” Burke said. “I don’t know what happened last week, I think we got down too early. North is a great team, they did a good job. We battled like hell. We cut our offense down, it’s boring but it was better for us, easier for us and we don’t make as many mistakes. Defensively we did well, that’s a pretty good Sharon team but they couldn’t have gotten much. [Juvan Elisma] is a hell of a player, I’d love to have him.”
Stoughton needed just three plays on the first drive of the game to find the end zone. Izon Swain-Price opened the game with a 39 yard rush and Justin Ly scampered up the middle for a 22 yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead just 1:38 into the game.
The Black Knights forced a quick three and out from Sharon and cashed in quickly again on their second drive. Again, just three plays into the drive Stoughton was in the end zone as Swain-Price got around the edge for a 39 yard score.
Sharon had its best offensive series of the game next, moving into Stoughton territory to the Black Knights’ 21 yard line. But a block in the back call forced the Eagles back 10 yards and on 4th and 10, the Eagles were unable to complete the pass to keep the drive going.
Stoughton’s run game was back at it again with Swain-Price gaining 21 yards on second down, followed by a 55 yard touchdown run from Ryan Sullivan to make it 21-0.
“The kids made a commitment,” Burke said. “We have a long way to get but we’re getting better. Sullivan and Izon, those guys are tough. They get going. Our key is blocking, it’s always been. We can’t throw the ball every day, we have to move the ball. High school is all about possession. I was very happy with the effort. I was glad we played today. It’s tough when its wet, the field was actually was pretty good. I was happy with the effort, getting the shutout it great.”
The Black Knights’ defense stepped up again on Sharon’s ensuing drive. The Eagles attempted to pass on second down but Nick Hardy stepped in for the interception and returned it 33 yards for the pick six, making it 28-0.
Things went from bad to worse for the Eagles as a sack forced them into a fourth and long situation. With the slick conditions, the snap on the punt was fumbled and Stoughton took over at the Sharon 33 yard line. After a penalty pushed the Black Knights back, Stoughton sophomore quarterback Evan Gibb hit Swain-Price in stride for a 41 yard score, making it 35-0 before the halftime break.
The only scoring play of the second half came with just over four minutes left in the game when Alex Iverson tackled a Sharon running back in the end zone for a safety to make it 37-0.
Swain-Price finished with 118 yards on the ground, 41 receiving yards and two touchdowns, Sullivan added 77 yards and a touchdown, Ly finished with 36 yards on four carries and David Bell added 32 yards.
Juvan Elisma led Sharon with 52 yards on 11 carries.
“We have a great bunch of kids,” Burke said. “Even after the two losses, against two tremendous teams, it really hardens us up for the rest of the way.”
Stoughton football (2-2, 1-1) will look to make it two in a row when they take a trip to Canton on Friday night to take on the Bulldogs. Sharon (3-1, 1-1) will try to bounce back when they host North Attleboro on Saturday afternoon.
“Canton is tough,” Burke said. “Canton will be the usual battle, they’re playing pretty well I saw them last night. It’s our big one, the kids know each other like brothers. So we’re excited for next Friday. I just hope we just keep improving. We just want to play better each week and get into the playoffs.”
