Tag: Matthew Kelley

Friday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 09/23/22

Today’s games are listed below.

Football
Attleboro, 20 @ New Bedford, 0 – Final
1Q: No scoring.
2Q: (A) Matt Harvie 27-yard pass to Ayden Ramirez, Adrian Rivera 2-point rush good; (A) M. Harvie 14-yard pass to Cole McKenna, XP failed.
3Q: No scoring.
4Q: (A) Shaun Maher 4-yard rush, 2-point rush failed.

Canton, 14 vs. Dedham, 0 – Final
1Q: No scoring.
2Q: (C) Owen Lane 22-yard pass to Michael Thomas, Hayden Rose XP good.
3Q: (C) O. Lane 3-yard rush, H. Rose XP good.
4Q: No scoring.

Foxboro, 14 @ Plymouth South, 21 – Final

Franklin, 21 vs. Duxbury, 34 – Final
1Q: (D) Alex Barlow 1-yard rush, XP good; (F) Michael Davide 5-yard rush, Garrett Portesi XP good.
2Q: (D) Matt Festa 6-yard rush, XP good; (D) M. Festa 40-yard pass to Chris Walsh.
3Q: (D) Adam Barr 1-yard rush, XP failed; (D) M. Festa 88-yard pass to C. Walsh, XP good; (F) Jase Lyons 37-yard pass to Derek Dubriske, G. Portesi XP good.
4Q: (F) J. Lyons 49-yard pass to Luke Davis, G. Portesi XP good.

King Philip, 19 vs. Xaverian, 14 – Final – Click here for a Recap and Photo Gallery from this game.
1Q: No scoring.
2Q: (KP) Matthew Kelley 33-yard field goal.
3Q: (KP) Carson Meier 45-yard interception return; M. Kelley XP good; (KP) M. Kelley 30-yard field goal; (X) Henry Hasselbeck 77-yard pass to Jonathan Monteiro, Joseph MacDonald XP good.
4Q: (KP) Nathan Kearney 6-yard rush, 2-point conversion failed; (X) H. Hasselbeck 29-yard pass to J. Monteiro, J. MacDonald XP good.

Mansfield, 35 @ Doherty, 0 – Final
1Q: (M) Drew Sacco 18-yard rush, Travis Hennessy XP good; (M) Brian Butler 12-yard rush, T. Hennessy XP good; (M) B. Butler 9-yard rush, T. Hennessy XP good.
2Q: (M) Connor Curtis 8-yard rush, T. Hennessy XP good.
3Q: (M) Tommy Smith 13-yard rush, T. Hennessy XP good.
4Q: No scoring.

Milford, 42 @ Natick, 27 – Final

Oliver Ames, 35 vs. Dighton-Rehoboth, 0 – Final1
1Q: (OA) Chad Silva 2-yard rush, 2-point failed.
2Q: (OA) Wayne Casey 25-yard pass to Bronson Burnham, XP failed; (OA) W. Casey 70-yard pass to Nick Ferrini, C. Silva 2-point rush good.
3Q: (OA) C. Silva 2-yard rush, W. Casey 2-point pass to Jack Morley; (OA) Jordan Young 2-yard rush, N. Ferrini XP good.
4Q: No scoring.

Stoughton, 14 vs. Hanover, 51 – Final
1Q: (H) Nick Freel 17-yard rush, XP good; (H) N. Freel 15-yard rush, XP good.
2Q: (H) Ben Scalzi 5-yard rush, XP good; (H) B. Scalzi 36-yard pass to N. Freel, XP good; (S) Jonathan Goncalves 90-yard interception return, XP good; (H) B. Scalzi 15-yard pass to David Quinlan, XP good; (H) B. Scalzi 38-yard pass to John McDonald, XP failed.
3Q: (S) Liam Dunn 51-yard rush, XP good; (H) J. McDonald 25-yard field goal.
4Q: (H) Marvin Felix 2-yard rush, XP good.

Taunton, 24 vs. Middleboro, 13 – Final
1Q: (T) Tanner Brannon 35-yard fumble return, XP failed.
2Q: (M) Jacob Briggs 66-yard rush, Matt Cohen XP; (T) Malachi Johnson 1-yard rush, 2pt pass failed; (M) J. Briggs 56-yard rush, XP failed; (T) Jacob Leonard 32-yard pass to Jose Touron, 2pt rush failed.
3Q: No scoring.
4Q: (T) M. Johnson 52-yard rush, 2pt pass failed.

Sharon, 0 @ Dover-Sherborn, 16 – Final








Boys Soccer
Attleboro, 3 @ Taunton, 0 – Final – Attleboro junior Alex Vecchioli scored twice and assisted on a third to lead the Bombardiers to a bounce-back win on the road at Taunton. Vecchioli opened the scoring in the first half, finishing off an assist from Billy Badger to put the visitors ahead 1-0, which they took into halftime. Vecchioli set up the next goal, finding Steve Etienne who scored to make it 2-0. Clay Tyler assisted on Attleboro’s final goal, connecting with Vecchioli, who buried his fourth goal of the week.

Foxboro, 0 @ Stoughton, 2 – Final

Franklin, 2 @ North Attleboro, 0 – Final – Click here for a Recap and Photo Gallery from this game.

King Philip, 1 @ Milford, 3 – Final – A goal-filled first half favored Milford and that was all the scoring in the contest as the Scarlet Hawks staked a 3-1 win over King Philip. The teams traded goals to start as Milford took a 1-0 lead when Eduardo Santana found Mathias Felipe for the opener but King Philip leveled on a goal from Matt Crago, assisted by Dermott Amorim. Santana put the Hawks back ahead, finishing off a corner from Arthur Tome, and then right before the halftime whistle, John Borges found Nick Ribeiro, who squeezed one in from a tough angle.

Sharon, 2 @ Mansfield, 1 – Final – Sharon scored a pair of goals inside a five-minute span in the second half to secure two points in a win over Mansfield. The Hornets took the lead 10 minutes into the game when Cooper Austin headed in a corner kick from Tyler Znoj for a 1-0 lead, an advantage that Mansfield carried into halftime. In the second half, Palash Raina headed in the equalizer off a cross from Rishi Shetty. Just four minutes later, Cam Birnbaum ran onto a through ball from Adam Eastman and finished for the eventual game-winner. Znoj, Austin, Derek McGrath, Dylan Mullin, Marco Germiniani, and Lucas deSousa played well for Mansfield.




Girls Soccer
Taunton, 0 @ Attleboro, 0 – Final – Neither team could find the back of the net in a game where the advantage depended on who had the wind at their backs. Taunton keeper Hayleigh Porter made nine saves to earn the first clean sheet of her career, while Alexis Campbell played well to get her first clean sheet this season. Christina Da Costa, Cali Melo, and Jenna Pereira all played strong games in Taunton’s defense, while Emily Calderon and Juliana Matos sparked the Taunton attack in the second half. Eighth graders Kaylee Lopes, Maddie Crowley, and Lia Abouyazbek also impressed for the Tigers.

Stoughton, 0 @ Foxboro, 0 – Final – Foxboro and Stoughton played to a scoreless draw at Sam Berns Community Field. The Warriors created a few chances through forward Erin Foley, but couldn’t find the finishing touch. Allie Sougaris made several important stops in the second half and earned her second clean sheet of the season for Foxboro.

North Attleboro, 0 @ Franklin, 1 – Final

Milford, 1 @ King Philip, 9 – Final – Click here for a Photo Gallery from this game. Rachel DeFlaminis scored a second half hat trick and Mikalyla Thompson finished with three assists to lead the Warriors to a big win at home. Ella Pisani’s brace had KP up 2-0 in the first half (her fifth and sixth goals in the past two games), but Milford cut the lead in half when Dani Atherton’s cross wasn’t cleared and Erin Michelson finished from close range. KP was able to score in the final minute of the half to restore its two-goal lead, as Kylie Menendez finished off a pass from Thompson. Heidi Lawrence added two goals, Ally Pochay scored on a Danielle Gresham corner, and Dani Lomuscio (two assists) slipped a pass through to DeFlaminis to make it 7-1 just 12 minutes into the second half. DeFlaminis would score twice more, one off an assist from Menendez, to wrap up the scoring.

Mansfield @ Sharon – Postponed to Saturday, 10/29 at 10:00AM.




Field Hockey
King Philip, 1 @ Westwood, 2 – Final – King Philip put up a great fight but fell on the road in a non-league tilt at Westwood. Kelly Holmes scored the lone goal for the Warriors while Maggie Murphy had a great game defensively in front of goalie Haley Bright (16 saves).

Stoughton, 0 vs. East Bridgewater, 0 – Final

Volleyball
Attleboro, 3 @ Bridgewater-Raynham, 0 – Final – Attleboro rolled to a 2-0 lead and then closed out the sweep with a competitive third set over Bridgewater-Raynham (25-14, 25-7, 25-23). Mary Katherine Runey called it a “full team effort” in the win. Natalie Brojek notched 26 assists and six aces, Julia Leonardo recorded 13 kills and five aces, and Addie Shelton chipped in with seven kills and four aces.

Milford @ North Attleboro, 5:15

Golf
Attleboro, 176 @ King Philip, 151 – Final – King Philip’s Cameron Hasenfus carded three birdies in a medalist round to lead the Warriors past Attleboro. Hasenfus birded on the second hole and then back-to-back on seven and eight to finished with a medalist round of 34. Anthony Fraone shot a 37, Jason Silva added a 39, and Gavin Croke rounded out the scoring with a 41.

Mansfield, 177 @ Sharon, 178 – Final – Mansfield senior Drew Urban fired a team-low round of 42 and the Hornets left the Cape Club of Sharon with a one-stroke victory over the Eagles. Brendan Vokey added a 44, Davon Sanders shot a 45, and Jason Friedman rounded out the scoring with a 46.

Thursday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 04/28/22

Today’s games are listed below.

Baseball
King Philip, 5 @ Attleboro, 2 – Final – Rudy Gately tossed a complete game, allowing only one earned run, to help the Warriors bounce back with a road win. Gately gave up six hits and struck out five. He also had a hit and scored a pair of runs. Max Robison drove in the first KP run in the second with a ground ball that brought in Gately, who had walked. In the third, Travis Crawford singled and stole second. Matthew Kelley dropped down a sac bunt to move Crawford to third and then Shawn Legere scored the run with a double to center. KP scored the winning runs in the sixth. Brendan Sencaj singled and Gately bunted for a hit, with Sencaj moving to third and Gately taking second. Will Astorino’s ground ball brought in one and Matt DiFiore’s safety squeeze scored Gately. The Warriors got an insurance run in the seventh. Kelley walked and Legere was hit by a pitch. A Sencaj fly ball moved Kelley to third and he would come home on a passed ball.

Sharon, 6 @ Canton, 10 – Final – Canton put up 10 runs for the second straight day and earned another win, this time taking down visiting Sharon. Tied 1-1 through 3.5 innings, Canton exploded for five runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a lead for good. Jay Kelleher and Matt Quan each drove in a pair of runs with a single to push the Bulldogs advantage to 6-1. Sharon responded with four runs in the top of the fifth to make it a one-run game but Canton answered with three of its own in the bottom half to pad the lead, getting an RBI from both Hayden Rose and Matt Hart. Jack Digirolamo went 3-for-4 for Canton with two RBI and two runs scored while Quan tossed two scoreless innings in relief to get the save. Palash Raina had a three-run triple for Sharon and scored a pair of runs.

Foxboro, 9 @ Oliver Ames, 0 – Final – Foxboro freshman Nolan Gordon tossed a complete game shutout to lead the Warriors to a quality win on the road at Frothingham Park over Oliver Ames. Gordon allowed seven hits, six of them singles, and didn’t have a walk, striking out four for the win. The Warriors’ offense plated three runs in three straight innings starting in the third inning. Junior Louis Carangelo had an RBI single, freshman Ryan O’Leary scored on a wild pitch, and Jack Watts scored on a ground out as Foxboro jumped ahead 3-0. Freshman Ben Angelini had a one-out RBI single to start the scoring in the fourth, and Carangelo drove in two more with a two-out single to center to make it 6-0. Liam Mulkern’s triple brought Tom Marcucella (double) home in the top of the fifth, Angelini drew a bases-loaded walk for a run, and Kenny Mello (HBP) scored on a ground out to make it 9-0.

Milford, 1 @ Franklin, 11 – Final (6 Inn.) – Franklin pushed across four runs in the bottom of the third to increase its lead to 5-0, and then ended the game with a six-run fifth inning to knock off Milford. Jase Lyons continued to rake at the plate, going 3-for-3 with three RBI and one run scored to pace the Panthers’ offense. Chris Goode added two hits and two RBI, Eisig Chin also drove in two runs, and Henry DiGiorgio had a pair of hits and three runs scored. Junior Alfred Mucciarone had a strong outing on the bump, allowing one run on six hits and no walks, striking out five in five innings.

Taunton, 2 @ Mansfield, 7 – Final – Mansfield exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the first inning and that was enough as the Hornets handed Taunton its first loss of the season. The Tigers staked a 1-0 lead after an RBI double from Braden Sullivan scored Dawson Bryce in the top of the first but Mansfield answered quickly, loading the bases on three of the first four at-bars. Jared Fraone singled in Matt DeShiro, Connor Curtis drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 2-0, and Jake Maydak brought home two runs on a base hit. With two outs, Conner Zukowski got his second hit of the inning with a two-run double to make it 7-1. Jimmy Gilleran handled the lead the rest of the way for the Hornets, allowing just two runs on five hits and one walk, striking out six in a complete game effort.

North Attleboro, 7 @ Stoughton, 3 – Final – Stoughton led 3-0 after two innings, but North rallied with seven runs in the final two innings to pick up the win and stay unbeaten in league play. Danny Curran went the distance for the Rocketeers, allowing only four hits and one earned run, striking out seven. The Black Knights got one in the first and two in the second to take the early lead. It took until the sixth inning before North got on the board. Derek Maceda started the rally with a walk, stole second, and scored on a triple by Tyler DeMattio (3-for-3, two extra base hits and two RBI). DeMattio would score on a ground out by Curran. North took the lead with a five-run seventh. Jordan Paradis beat out an infield single to lead things off, David Floyd followed with a single and both moved up on a sac bunt by Christian Bates. Tyler Bannon brought them both home with a double and DeMattio scored him with a double. Curran (three RBI) plated two more with a single up the middle to put North up by four.








Softball
Attleboro, 0 @ King Philip, 7 – Final – King Philip softball Jordan Bennett tossed a two-hit shutout to lead the Warriors to a 7-0 win over a quality opponent in Attleboro. Bennett allowed just two singles — both to Attleboro’s Lily Routhier — with one coming in the first, and one coming in the sixth, but responded with a strikeout for the third out on both occasions. Junior Charlotte Raymond and freshman Liv Petrillo each brought in a run with an RBI single during KP’s four-run second inning, and two runs came in to score after an error on sophomore Maddie Paschke’s squeeze bunt. KP added two key insurance runs in the bottom of the fourth after both junior Sarah Cullen and sophomore Caitlyn Sencaj singled and then both came into score on a hit from senior Meg Sherwood. Petrillo drove in another run with a double in the bottom of the fifth to plate Mia Bennett (walk).

Canton, 16 @ Sharon, 3 – Final – Jessica Wright and Olivia Mackwell each recorded five hits and drove in five runs as Canton picked up a big win on the road over Sharon. Sam Vrabel added four hits and drove in three runs while Taylor Reynolds chipped in with a pair of hits and four RBI on the same. Sophia Santos and Gillian Gordon pitched well for the Bulldogs in the win.

Oliver Ames, 3 @ Foxboro, 10 – Final – Click here for a photo gallery of this game – Foxboro scored in each of the first five innings, including a four-run second and a three-run fifth, to secure a win over visiting Oliver Ames. Freshman Vittoria Cuscia had a big day for the Warriors, getting it done both in the circle and at the plate. She tossed a complete game, including six shutout innings before the Tigers struck for three in the seventh. She added seven strikeouts and then paced the offense with three hits and two runs scored. Peyton Feldman had a big day on the base path, stealing four bases and scoring three runs.

Franklin, 18 @ Milford, 8 – Final – Franklin’s bats exploded for 18 runs on 18 hits, scoring in five straight innings between the second and sixth inning during a victory over Milford. Sophomore Carly Johnson-Pellegri had a huge day at the dish, going 4-for-5 while driving in eight runs to pace the Panthers’ offense, scoring three times herself. Kiera Kotwicki added three hits, three runs, and RBI in the win while Aislinn Lavery (two RBI), Georgia Harvey, Katy Liberman and Hailey Fales each added two hits in the win. Milford’s Cae Pellegrini had two hits, including her second home run in as many days, and sophomore Grace Bonina chipped in with two hits and two RBI in the win.

Mansfield, 0 @ Taunton, 13 – Final (5 Inn.) – Taunton scored 11 runs in the first inning and never looked back, rolling to a big win and ending Mansfield’s three-game win streak. Liv Mendonca allowed just two hits and one walk and struck out nine to pick up the win. Kyleah Plumb (two runs), Kaysie DeMoura (two runs and five RBI), Ava Venturelli (thee runs and two RBI), and Hayley Krockta (run scored and RBI) each had two hits for the Tigers. Angie Lynch drove in a pair and Kylie Thorpe and Mendonca both drove in one. Venturelli and DeMoura both went deep for Taunton. Callie Lake and Cat Kipp had Mansfield’s hits.

Stoughton, 2 @ North Attleboro, 7 – Final – Kelly Colleran was dominant in the circle and at the plate, leading North to a crucial division win over Stoughton. Colleran earned the win with a 14-strikeout day and helped her own cause by going 3-for-4 with two homers, a double, and three RBI. Mandi Hanewich continued to do her job in the leadoff spot with two hits, two stolen bases and a run scored. Shaelyn Burns blasted a three-run homer in the third to give North separation. Ally Levine and Zoey McDonough added a hit and a run scored apiece, while Maryellen Charette had a strong game at catcher.




Boys Lacrosse
North Attleboro, 14 @ Canton, 9 – Final – Clayton Billingkoff and Connor Ruppert each scored four goals to help North earn the season sweep of Canton. Matt Antonetti added a hat trick for the Rocketeers and JT Gallagher was trong in goal with 12 saves. Jared Vacher continued to be a force on the draw, winning 19 face-offs.

Girls Lacrosse
Attleboro vs. Norton, 4:00

Boys Tennis
Attleboro, 1 @ King Philip, 4 – Final – King Philip swept all three singles matches and added another win in doubles play, taking a 4-1 verdict over visiting Attleboro. Senior Brady Jannell prevailed with a hard-fought 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 win at first singles, senior Jonathan Cohen added a 6-1, 6-1 second doubles win, and junior Jackson Hom secured a 6-2, 6-4 win at third singles. The team of senior Diego Neto and junior Noah Ihley added a first doubles win (7-6, 6-4) for the Warriors. Attleboro’s Luke Hinton and Brady Rosen won 6-2, 6-3 at second doubles.

Canton, 2 @ Sharon, 3 – Final – A sweep of doubles and one win from singles action gave Sharon a close win over visiting Canton. The team of Ruemon Bhattacharyya and Mitch Weiss won at first doubles, while Hyojae Park and Sava Kassev won at second doubles for the Eagles. Sharon also got a win from Jacob Slavsky (6-1, 6-0) at third singles. Canton sophomore Max Kupferman prevailed from a well-played, hard-fought first singles battle with sophomore Matthew Lally to take a 6-3, 6-7, 10-8 win while Suraj Ramanathan added a 6-1, 6-2 win at second singles for the Bulldogs.

Oliver Ames, 3 @ Foxboro, 2 – Final – Click here for a photo gallery of this match – Oliver Ames second doubles team of Alex Vasiliou and Ben Dias emerged victorious after a marathon three-set match, giving the Tigers their fourth straight win. Second doubles was a battle from the get-go and Vasiliou and Dias prevailed with a 6-4, 6-7, 7-6 win to clinch the match. The Tigers also got a big win from sophomore Nick Westerbeke, who dropped the first set 0-6 but rallied to win the second, and took the third 6-2 at first singles.

Franklin, 5 @ Milford, 0 – Final – Franklin won all five matches in straights to stay undefeated on the season, moving to 7-0. Senior Drew Mahoney earned a 6-1, 6-1 win at first singles, sophomore Ahan Shetty secured a 6-0, 6-1 win at second singles, and junior Ryan Essam prevailed from third singles with a 6-4, 6-4 verdict. The team of seniors Tim O’Keefe and Aidan Karlowicz earned a 6-1, 6-0 win at first doubles, and the team of freshman Dan Reis and junior Tyler Fitzpatrick were victorious, 6-1, 6-0, at second doubles.

Mansfield, 5 @ Taunton, 0 – Final – Senior Pratham Tallam and junior Jesse Colchamiro overcame a one-set deficit to prevail with a third-set tiebreaker win, completing Mansfield’s sweep over Taunton. Pratham and Colchamiro earned a 4-6, 7-5, 10-5 win at first doubles and sophomore Jacob Weiner and junior James Kennedy secured a 6-3, 6-3 win at second doubles. Mansfield won all three singles matches in first sets: Neema Khosravani (6-1, 6-1) at first singles, Kailash Elumela (6-2, 6-0) at second singles, and Benson Delaney (6-0, 6-0) at third singles.

Stoughton, 0 @ North Attleboro, 5 – Final – Freshman Darren Liang and the sophomore tandem of Quinn DiFiore and Aaryan Anjna both overcome a one-set deficit to get a win, helping North Attleboro complete a sweep over Stoughton. Liang rallied for a win at third singles, taking the match 6-7, 6-4, 7-5 while DiFiore and Anjna earned a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10) win at second doubles. Senior Will Folan took a 6-2, 6-0 decision at first singles, junior Brody Carter added a 6-3, 7-5 victory at second sinlges, and the team of junior Griffin Rodden and sophomore Arnav Raghuvanshi secured a 6-4, 6-3 first doubles win for North Attleboro.




Girls Tennis
King Philip, 2 @ Attleboro, 3 – Final – Attleboro picked up its biggest win of the season, getting a big boost in doubles action, with a 3-2 decision over King Philip. Seniors Saharla Yusuf and Tina Lam continued their impressive campaign with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 win at first doubles while the team of senior Alison Rebelo and junior Bree Paulette emerged with a 6-4, 6-3 win at second doubles. The Bombardiers got a third point at first singles from senior Ella Lynch Bartek (6-2, 6-6 [2-3] ret.). King Philip sophomore Shea Mellman earned a 6-4, 6-3 win at second singles and junior Caroline Freese added a 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 win at third singles.

Sharon, 5 @ Canton, 0 – Final – Sharon’s Navya Shukla emerged from a third-set tiebreaker that took 34 points to decide to get the win, completing the Eagles’ sweep over Canton. Shukla and Canton’s Camila Cutter split the first two sets before engaging in an epic tie-breaker with the hosts first singles prevailing 6-4, 4-6, 18-16. Sharon also got wins from Ale Aguilar at second singles (6-2, 6-2), Judy Song at third singles (6-1, 6-1), the team of Ritu Sreeram and Sophia Oh at first doubles (6-2, 6-2), and the duo of Sasha Fein and Abby Vilk at second doubles (6-2, 6-4).

Foxboro, 2 @ Oliver Ames, 3 – Final – The team of Olivia Querzoli and Marina Mierzwinksi rallied from a one-set deficit to win two in a row, clinching the decisive third point to give the Tigers a win over Foxboro, their third win this week. Querzoli and Mierzwinksi rallied to secure a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win while OA’s first doubles team of Morgan Vasiliou and Caroline Peper earned a 6-1, 6-4 victory. OA’s first win came at third singles from Elizabeth O’Brien (6-2, 6-1). Foxboro won both first singles (Athena Li) and second singles (Hailey Kornbluth) without dropping a set, taking both 6-0, 6-0.

Milford, 0 @ Franklin, 5 – Final – Taking all five matches in straight sets, Franklin defended home court against visiting Milford. Izzy Trull took a 6-2, 6-0 win at first singles, Vedika Vinayak earned a 6-1, 6-0 win at second singles, and Sarah Schiavo completed the singles sweep with a 6-0, 6-3 victory at third singles. The team of Allison Bagley and Amulya Jayam earned a 6-1, 6-1 win at at first doubles while the tandem of Ashmita Boopathy and Brooke Daniels emerged with a 6-1, 6-2 victory at second doubles.

Taunton @ Mansfield, 3:45
North Attleboro @ Stoughton, 3:45

Boys Volleyball
Taunton vs. Greater New Bedford, 5:00

2021 HockomockSports Football Awards

King Philip Can’t Match CM’s Offense in D2 Title Game

King Philip football Rudy Gately
King Phillip junior Rudy Gately muscles his way into the end zone for a second half touchdown. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
Josh PerryFollowJoshPerry


FOXBORO, Mass. – Defense has always been a strength for the King Philip program under head coach Brian Lee, but the Warriors have rarely faced an offense as dynamic and as talented as Catholic Memorial.

The Warriors (9-3) accomplished something no other team had this season, holding the Knights scoreless through the opening 12 minutes of Thursday night’s Div. 2 Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium, but it is nearly impossible to keep CM off the board for long. The Knights grabbed the lead before halftime and used big plays to break the game open in the second half, en route to a 42-18 victory.

“Once you get behind by more than you’re comfortable with then you can’t do what you want to do and be patient,” Lee explained. “We had a couple plays that really hurt but you’ve got to be able to overcome that and against them it’s so hard. You have to play perfect and you’ve got to keep pressure on the whole time and it’s a lot to do.”

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

Lee was also vocal about his team, which was making its fourth Super Bowl appearance in the last six years, going up against a school that can pull players from a wide area. While school population means that CM actually opted up two divisions to compete in D2, Lee argued that there remains a talent gap that public schools will struggle to overcome.

“I’ll play any team, anywhere, anything like that, but does that look like that’s apples and apples?” Lee asked. “You’ve got to fix it. We have to play with kids who were in Cub Scouts together and they choose to stay, play hard, and work hard, but there’s just no way to close that gap. We can’t work hard enough. I can’t bring them in at four in the morning in the off-season to make them that good.”

CM got the ball to start the game and went to work in the running game, behind junior Carson Harwood (16 carries, 135 yards) and junior BC-commit Datrell Jones (nine carries, 95 yards). After Jake Sullivan and Sean King stuffed a third and four play at the 41, Hunter Hastings pressured CM quarterback JC Petrongolo, who slipped for a nine-yard loss.

KP wasn’t able to take advantage of the short field. Charlie Grant’s pass to Thomas Brewster fell incomplete on fourth down at the 36 giving the Knights back the ball.

This time, CM was able to get bigger chunks and deep into KP territory. Harwood broke a 13-yard run on the first play and Petrongolo (7-of-14, 137 yards) hit Jaedn Skeete (three catches, 103 yards) for 21. Crawford Cantave was able to bring down bruising fullback Kyle King three yards short of the goal line and on fourth down Sullivan forced a Harwood fumble that was recovered by Luke Danson in the end zone.

After picking up a crucial turnover, KP tried to convert it into points. On third and eight, Grant (14-of-22, 175 yards) connected with Brewster for 26 out to midfield. Rudy Gately (19 carries, 79 yards) started to go to work behind KP’s big offensive line. Grant was able to get just enough on fourth and one to keep the drive going, but on third down at the CM 11 he was unable to find an open Brewster in the back of the end zone. Matthew Kelley booted a 28-yard field goal to put KP on top.

The momentum from the opening score disappeared quickly. After Jones broke a 19-yard run, Petrongolo hit Kole Osinubi in stride on a deep slant for a 51-yard touchdown. Following a KP punt, CM got the ball back with 2:47 left in the half and proceeded to add to its lead. This time Petrongolo used a quick snap and threw a perfectly weighted pass to Matthew Rios for a 14-yard score.

KP had played well, used a lot of clock, and found itself down 14-3 at the break.

The Warriors got the ball to open the second half and missed another opportunity to put points on the board. After combining on a completion earlier in the drive for a first down, Grant rolled out to the near sideline and fired a third down pass on the run to a wide open Brewster, who had snuck behind the coverage but was unable haul it in.

Grant’s punt pinned CM back at its own seven, but Jones broke free for a 44-yard run that got the Knights into KP’s half after just two plays. Illegal motion wiped one TD off the board but Petrongolo found Harwood in the flat to convert on fourth down and then Jones punched it in from the three.

With the game in danger of getting out of hand, KP responded on its next drive. It started with a 26-yard completion to Danny Clancy to the 50. Clancy also drew a pass interference call and made a nice grab on the sideline to convert on third down. On fourth and two, Jonathan Joseph got open in the flat for six yards down to the four. Gately did the rest, breaking off tackle to the left and, rather than racing to the pylon, initiated contact with the linebacker to break the plane.

Once again, momentum switched straight back to CM. On the first play on the ensuing drive Petrongolo threw a backward pass to Drew DeLucia, who in turn threw it down field to a wide open Skeete for a 66-yard touchdown, just 12 seconds after KP scored.

“When you try to get into matching them, that’s not our game in the second half,” Lee said. “That’s what they do to everybody. Boom, you make a mistake, you force something that’s not there, and that’s what you get.”

The Warriors remained defiant. Clancy drew another pass interference call and Grant hit Nathan Kearney for 11 yards on a screen. After a holding call backed them up, Grant caught the CM defense with a shovel pass to Joseph, who broke it for 25 yards to the CM 40. Another screen to Gately turned into a 31-yard completion inside the 10. On third and goal, Grant kept it on the left side of the line for a one-yard plunge. He also found Cantave for the two-point conversion to make it 28-18 with 8:57 to play.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

CM was proving unstoppable on the other side of the ball. A big return by Jones put them out near midfield and a pass interference call moved them down to the 23. On third and five, Petrongolo hooked up with Osinubi for an 18-yard score right down the seam. Osinubi would cap his three-score night with a pick six in the final 90 seconds to cap the scoring.

“I’m so proud of them,” Lee said. “They were never supposed to have a chance.”

Reflecting on how far the team has progressed this season, he added, “I didn’t even think we were that good and then all of a sudden you’re in the Super Bowl. It’s all about them, how hard they worked, how much they believed.”

Thursday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 12/02/21

Today’s games are listed below.

Football
Division 2 Super Bowl
#3 King Philip, 18 vs. #1 Catholic Memorial, 42 – Final
1st Quarter: No scoring.
2nd Quarter: (KP) Matthew Kelley 28-yard field goal; (CM) JC Petrongolo 51-yard pass to Kole Osinubi, Jack Sokol XP good; (CM) J. Petrongolo 14-yard pass to Matthew Rios, J. Sokol XP good.
3rd Quarter: (CM) Datrell Jones 4-yard rush, J. Sokol XP good.
4th Quarter: (KP) Rudy Gately 4-yard rush, M. Kelley XP good; (CM) Drew DeLucia 66-yard pass to Jaedn Skeete, J Sokol XP good; (KP) Charlie Grant 1-yard rush, C. Grant 2-point pass to Crawford Cantave; (CM) J. Petrongolo 18-yard pass to K. Osinubi, J. Sokol XP good; (CM) K. Osinubi 55-yard interception return, J. Sokol XP good.

Division 3 Super Bowl
#3 North Attleboro, 28 vs. #1 Marblehead, 35 – Final – Click here for a Recap and Photo Gallery from this game.
1st Quarter: No scoring.
2nd Quarter: (M) Josh Robertson 7-yard pass to Connor Cronin, Eli Feingold XP good; (NA) Tyler DeMattio 6-yard rush, T. DeMattio XP good; (NA) T. DeMattio 4-yard rush, T. DeMattio XP good; (M) J. Robertson 73-yard pass to C. Cronin; E. Feingold XP good.
3rd Quarter: (M) J. Robertson 20-yard pass to George Percy, E. Feingold XP good; (M) J. Robertson 8-yard rush, E. Feingold XP good; (NA) Tyler Bannon 6-yard rush, T. Demattio XP good.
4th Quarter: (NA) T. DeMattio 3-yard rush, T. DeMattio XP good; (M) J. Robertson 83-yard pass to C. Cronin, E. Feingold XP good.

Franklin Holds Off KP To Clinch Kelley-Rex Crown

Franklin senior Shane Kindred hauls in a one-handed grab against King Philip on Thanksgiving. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
ByRyanLanigan_2016FollowRyanLanigan_2016
 
 
 FRANKLIN, Mass. — Before the main course of turkey, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce, the Franklin football team helped themselves to an early serving of stuffing.

Franklin senior Jack Marino denied King Philip on a 4th and 1 situation just beyond midfield with two minutes left in the game to help the Panthers secure a 27-20 win over the Warriors in the 61st Thanksgiving clash between the two teams.

With the win, Franklin clinches its first-ever Hockomock League Kelley-Rex division title and first league crown since 2009. It also snaps a 10-game Thanksgiving skid and an 18-game overall streak to the Warriors, their first win over KP since the same year they won their last title.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

“It’s incredibly satisfying, and I’m obviously proud as the coach but I’m just happy for the kids and the town,” said Franklin head coach Eian Bain. “The last couple of years, this game has been good and there’s been some close ones and not so close ones. Eventually, these are games we have to win to move our program forward.

“This is a step in the right direction, and hopefully, our young kids realize what they can do if they keep working. But as awesome as this is, I hope they realize this took a lot of work from a lot of young men. I’m just really happy for the kids to see that hard work pay off today.”

The teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter, the latter — plus a two-point conversion — had the hosts ahead 27-20 going into the final quarter of play.

The Warriors were marching into Franklin territory as the final minutes ticked off the clock. KP punted on its second drive of the second half and then fumbled in Panther territory on its previous drive.

A heavy dose of junior Rudy Gately (24 carries, 162 yards) and Crawford Cantave (14 carries, 72 yards) had the Warriors over midfield, but Will Astorino’s third down run was stopped a yard shy of the marker on a tackle from Luke Davis and Cullen Pek.

On fourth down, Marino came flying through the offensive line and met Gately in the backfield for a loss of yards and a turnover on downs.

Mack Gulla (16 carries, 109 yards) ran for back-to-back first downs and the Panthers ran the clock out to secure their first win in the series in over a decade.

“Me and [Nick Quintina], we knew it was going to be either me or him that had to make the play, we needed to make a play and make a tackle,” Marino said. “Rudy is a hard runner, I’m good friends with him but I was able to get through the gap and he was there for me to make the play.

“It’s great to get this win…the rivalry between Franklin and KP has always been there all the way back to Pop Warner. They’ve had our number for a decade or so, but it’s great to get the last one, especially for the seniors.”

“Jack is one of the savviest athletes out there,” Bain said. “Coach [Zach] Brown would say the same thing with baseball…looking back at any big win, there’s a moment when Jack Marino turned the tide.”

While it was the perfect end for Franklin, it was far from the perfect start.

King Philip’s defense forced a quick three-and-out and its offense needed little time to find the end zone. Gately broke free up the middle for 64 yards and three plays later, senior quarterback Charlie Grant (4/9, 84 yards) went play action and hit classmate Drew Danson in the back of the end zone for a 7-0 lead less than four minutes into the game.

Things went from bad to worse for the Panthers as they fumbled on their first carry of the ensuing drive and KP pounced on the loose ball, taking over in Franklin territory.

The Warriors needed just four plays again, helped along by a 33-yard pass and catch from Grant to Danny Clancy down the right sideline down to the 1-yard line. Two plays later, Grant kept it himself on the sneak and Matthew Kelley booted the point after for a 14-0 lead with 5:55 left in the first quarter.

“You’re up 14-0 and you keep trying to tell the kids it’s not going to last,” KP head coach Brian Lee said. “You want to try and jump on them as much as possible early. I think if we had maybe one more there…but it just comes back to the little things.

“The quick reaction is jeez, we made a lot of mistakes but how much of that is from the pressure [Franklin] was bringing on us? It makes you a little antsy, jump offside, lineup wrong, just little things like that…you like to think it’s us self-destructing but I think it’s the pressure they put on us. That’s what happens playing against a very good team.”

Franklin had to punt on its third drive but the Panther defense delivered a big stop, cooling some of KP’s momentum.

After a first down run from Gulla, Bain dipped into his bag of tricks and the Panthers executed a perfect flea flicker. Gulla took the handoff but tossed it back to Jared Arone (11/17, 231 yards, 3 TD) and he hit Shane Kindred (5 catches, 159 yards, 3 TD) in stride for an 85-yard touchdown with just over a minute left in the first. Sean King blocked the point after for KP but Franklin was on the board, down 14-6.

Helped by a holding call, KP’s offense went backward on its next series. A third-down pooch punt didn’t travel as far as the Warriors’ hoped and Franklin took over at the KP 45-yard line with 9:19 left in the second.

Arone broke free from a facemask hold and weaved his way to a 45-yard score, only for a block in the back to offset the penalties and nullify the play. But the Panthers’ offense carried on as Arone hit Will Deschenes to convert a fourth down and on the next play, Arone hit Kindred up the left hash for a 17-yard touchdown, making it 14-13 after Garrett Portesi’s extra point.

A false start and a tackle for loss from Marino stalled KP’s next drive, and a sack from Jay Gulla ended it as the Warriors had to punt it back.

Franklin’s offense capitalized on the momentum as Arone hit Kindred to convert an early third down, and the duo hooked up two plays later on the right side and Kindred managed to stay inbounds, racing up the right sideline and diving into the end zone. Hunter Hastings blocked another point after attempt but the Panthers had a 19-14 lead at halftime.

“I think we’ve been in that situation a couple of times, and even though you might get your confidence rattled a little bit, we’re still a pretty good football team,” Bain said of facing an early deficit. “And as long as we kept believing, I think the biggest thing was just having our kids settle down. You want them to play with emotion but they had to settle down and once we hit the big play to Shane at the end of the first quarter, and then we got a stop that we needed and we settled in.

“KP did an awesome job, they’re going to Gillette for a reason. Kind of like last week, we knew they’d score points and make big plays, we just had to take it one series at a time. You can’t hit fast forward to the fourth quarter and the game is over, we had to work for it and earn it.”

KP opened the second half in typical Warrior style: a 9-play, 70-yard march down the field to retake the lead. Gately and Cantave alternated carries, and Grant hit Gately for 25 yards out of the backfield on a third and long. Cantave capped the drive by backing his way across the goal line for a 6-yard touchdown.

The two-point pass was broken up in the corner of the end zone by Franklin’s Devine Johnson.

Franklin went three-and-out on its first drive of the second half after a pass break up on third by KP’s Kelley. But the Panthers’ defense bounced back and stuffed the Warriors, who went for it on 4th down from the Franklin 32-yard line.

“I think it was good to get back to our identity and our reality,” Bain said of the defense. “Certainly, Springfield Central can take anyone out of their comfort zone and King Philip does it in a totally different way, and that’s hard. It’s hard to keep getting hit in the mouth and then you’re down 14. You have to ask yourself, do I want to keep getting hit in the face over and over and over again. Our guys didn’t back down…it was hard, and they’ll be sore tomorrow but they kept answering the bell time and time again, getting off the mat. In the fourth quarter, they made a couple of plays that were key to winning the game.”

Gulla made a nice catch on the left sideline for 19 yards to move the sticks and then bulldozed his way for 10 yards on the ground and another first down. Four plays later, he ran up the middle for a 5-yard touchdown.

On the two-point try, Arone went to the right on the bootleg but didn’t have anyone open so he raced back to the left and into the end zone for a successful conversion and a 27-20 lead.

“I don’t want to think if we did lose, but I think they still would have had a great career but I think this was needed for them,” Bain said of his senior class. “I think a couple of classes before them, I think they feel a part of this too but this group pushed us over the hump. Everyone got screwed out of a normal experience last year but to bounce back and to have this, for this to be their last high school football memory, it couldn’t be more fitting for this group of kids.

It was the first time in nearly a decade that Thanksgiving games counted towards division titles in the Hockomock League. With the new rating system, the league elected to have Thanksgiving count as a league game with holiday rivals only playing once in the season, rather than twice as they had for the past eight years.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

King Philip still has one game left as the Warriors are headed to Gillette Stadium to play Catholic Memorial in the Division 2 State Championship game. But the Warriors weren’t focused on next week just yet. KP played all of its starters.

“We were focused on this game…you have to respect their seniors, that’s a great team and they want to know they beat us with our guys,” Lee said. “They deserve that shot, that opportunity after the season they’ve had. And we wanted our guys to have a shot at the league title. Yeah, we’re going to the Super Bowl but who knows what’s going to happen? We’re playing against an absolute animal of a team. But with a chance at the Hock title, we wanted to try and go get it.”

Franklin finishes the season at 10-1 and a perfect 5-0 in Kelley-Rex division play. King Philip enters its showdown with CM next week at 9-2.

Thursday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 11/25/21

Today’s games are listed below.

Football
North Attleboro, 14 @ Attleboro, 6 – Final
1st Quarter: (NA) Tyler DeMattio 45-yard rush, T. DeMattio XP good.
2nd Quarter: (A) Adrian Rivera 5-yard rush, XP no good.
3rd Quarter: No scoring.
4th Quarter: (NA) T. DeMattio 8-yard rush, T. DeMattio XP good.

Canton, 14 @ Stoughton, 47 – Final
1st Quarter: No scoring.
2nd Quarter: (S) Jarred Daughtry 6-yard pass to Tagh Swierzewski, Jonah Ly XP good; Bahsor Mahn 70-yard rush, Hayden Rose XP good; (S) J. Ly 10-yard rush, XP failed; (S) Brady Clark 40-yard pass to Emmett Pearl, J. Ly XP good; (S) B. Clark 30-yard pass to E. Pearl, J. Ly XP good.; (S) Tyler Noel 2-yard fumble recovery, J. Ly XP good.; (C) Owen Lane rush, H. Rose XP good;
3rd Quarter: (S) Anthony Girolamo 12-yard rush, J. Ly XP good.
4th Quarter: (S) E. Pearl 50-yard interception return.

Foxboro, 21 @ Mansfield, 35 – Final
1st Quarter: (M) Conner Zukowski 16-yard pass to Ryan DeGirolamo, James Gilleran XP good; (F) Sam Carpenter 29-yard field goal.
2nd Quarter: (F) S. Carpenter 43-yard field goal; (M) Drew Sacco 5-yard rush, J. Gilleran XP good; (F) Dylan Gordon 15-yard rush, D. Gordon 2-point conversion rush.
3rd Quarter: (M) Rocco Scarpellini 5-yard rush, J. Gilleran XP good; (M) C. Zukowski 1-yard rush, J. Gilleran XP good.
4th Quarter: (M) C. Zukowski 8-yard pass to R. DeGirolamo, J. Gilleran XP good; (F) Tom Marcucella 73-yard pass to Rashaad Way, S. Carpenter XP good.

King Philip, 20 @ Franklin, 27 – Final – Click here for a Recap and Photo Gallery from this game.
1st Quarter: (KP) Charlie Grant 5-yard pass to Drew Danson, Matthew Kelley XP good; (KP) C. Grant 1-yard rush, M. Kelley XP good; (F) Jared Arone 85-yard pass to Shane Kindred, XP blocked.
2nd Quarter: (F) J. Arone 17-yard pass to S. Kindred, Garrett Portesi XP good; (F) J. Arone 37-yard pass to S. Kindred, XP blocked.
3rd Quarter: (KP) Crawford Cantave 6-yard rush, 2pt pass failed; (F) Mack Gulla 5-yard rush, J. Arone 2pt rush.
4th Quarter: No scoring.

Taunton, 28 @ Milford, 34 – Final – Click here for a Recap and Photo Gallery from this game.
1st Quarter: (T) Jacob Leonard 25-yard pass to Trent Santos, Nathan Keenan XP good; (M) Tyler Lane 32-yard rush, Nicholas Araujo XP good.
2nd Quarter: (T) Faisal Mass 97-yard interception return, N. Keenan XP good; (M) Evan Cornelius 1-yard rush, N. Araujo XP good; (M) N. Araujo 41-yard field goal.
3rd Quarter: (M) E. Cornelius 3-yard rush, N. Araujo XP good; (M) N. Araujo 45-yard field goal; (T) J. Leonard 46-yard pass to T. Santos, N. Keenan XP good.
4th Quarter: (M) Isaiah Pantalone 10-yard rush, N. Araujo XP good; (T) J. Leonard 31-yard pass to Jose Touron, N. Keenan XP good.

Sharon, 7 @ Oliver Ames, 34 – Final

Second Half Comeback Sends KP Back to Gillette

King Philip football Rudy Gately
King Philip junior running back Rudy Gately escapes a handful fo Milford defenders in the second half at Marciano Stadium. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com
Josh PerryFollowJoshPerry


BROCKTON, Mass. – King Philip has been in these type of games before. Despite trailing by two points going into halftime of Friday night’s Div. 2 state semifinal at Brockton’s Marciano Stadium, the Warriors remained confident that they could turn things around.

In the third quarter, KP ran 20 plays to Milford’s one. The Warriors ate up more than nine minutes off the clock on a 16-play, go-ahead drive to start the half, forced a turnover, and then ran another 10 plays and used up more than four minutes to extend the lead. Before the Hawks had a chance to find their footing after the break, KP had taken control of the game.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

The Warriors scored 17 unanswered in the second half, turning a two-point deficit into a 31-16 victory that sends KP to Gillette Stadium for the fourth time in the past six years (or four out of the past five seasons where a state title was up for grabs).

“We knew we weren’t getting that good of a push up front and we wanted to come out there and we wanted to set the tone for the second half,” said senior lineman Hunter Hastings about turning things around out of halftime. “We knew we had to do it on the first drive, so we came out there and we pounded the ball and we took up time and scored the ball, doesn’t get better than that.”

He added, “Coach Lee tells us what we need to do and he knows we’re going to be in these situations and he knows we’ve got to fight through the adversity and that’s what we do at KP.”

Milford came out with a hurry-up offense, trying to get the KP defense on its heels and slow down the pass rush. It worked on the opening drive, as the Hawks marched right down field, going 70 yards on 13 plays, and taking the lead. The big play was a 30-yard pass to the sideline from Evan Cornelius to Jayden Agnew to convert on third and long. Cornelius would finish off the drive with a 4-yard keeper.

“We wanted to go hurry-up early, but we just don’t have the numbers to sustain that for a whole game,” Milford coach Dale Olson said. “Tried to limit their blitz package and had a great first drive.”

The lead lasted all of 19 seconds. Although Milford is known more for the big-play offense, KP hit paydirt on its first play from scrimmage. An end around to Crawford Cantave caught the Hawks over-pursuing and the senior raced up the sideline for a 70-yard touchdown that quickly tied the game.

“You get knocked down, you’ve got to get up, you’ve got to have a response,” Lee explained. “Craw gets us right back in so we get a fresh start. I told them, let’s get through it, eventually the pace will slow, things will get down, and we’ll get back on schedule.”

Olson said, “Give them props, that’s a new formation we saw last week and they ran the double handoff. Our team’s chasing the first handoff and they give it to the kid going the other way and we haven’t seen it on film. It was a great call on their part.”

Isaiah Pantalone, who was held to one catch, broke a 54-yard return on the ensuing kick and the Hawks were back in business, starting at the KP 36. After a false start brought up first and 15 at the 30, Cornelius hit Nick Schuler for 13 yards. Tyler Lane (15 carries, 119 yards) got two to bring up fourth and one. The Hawks lined up to go for it but a false start backed them up, so the field goal unit came out. Another false start made it a 43-yard kick, which KP blocked.

On the final possession of the first quarter, KP struck again. Charlie Grant (4-of-9, 38 yards) converted a third and long with a 12-yard pass over the middle to Danny Clancy. On third and two from the Milford 49, Rudy Gately (22 carries, 134 yards) found a little seam between the right guard and tackle and burst through it, breaking away for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead.

Milford again got into KP territory on its next drive. Lane had the big play with a 43-yard rush down to the 32, but that’s where the possession stalled. Sean King blocked a fourth down pass to get the ball back, but the Warriors went three-and-out and punted. With the short field, Milford was able to tack on three points. A nice play by Cantave and William Astorino on third down forced the Hawks to settle for a 32-yard kick by Nicholas Araujo.

The biggest play of the half came on KP’s next possession. Milford brought a big rush to try and block Grant’s rugby-style punt. Lane got through for the block, scooped up the loose ball, and took it the distance. He appeared to be tackled at about the five, but somehow managed to stay on his feet and find the end zone. Although a low snap led to a missed extra point, Milford regained the lead going into the break, 16-14.

KP came out intent on grinding down the Milford defense. Nathan Kearney converted on third and one, then Grant hit Clancy for eight yards to convert on third and eight. Gately converted back-to-back third downs, as KP just kept pounding the ball up the middle and moving the chains.

The Hawks were able to get stops inside the 30 and force the Warriors to settle for a 38-yard Matthew Kelley field goal, but KP had used up 9:19 off the clock, ran 16 plays, regained the lead, and stolen all of the energy from the opposite sideline. Milford tried to take a shot on the first play of its first possession, but Crawford was able to go up and intercept a pass to Pantalone and get KP the ball back at the Hawks 42.

“We ran one play in the third quarter and it’s a 50-50 ball that goes through Isaiah’s hands into one of their best player’s hands,” Olson said. “Usually Isaiah makes that play and it’s a big play down the sideline, but that’s the game of football.”

Four plays later, the third quarter came to a close. Milford had run one play in 12 minutes. After Grant found Cantave in the flat to convert third and five, Gately got four straight carries down to the 10. On third and six, Grant looked for Clancy in the end zone. The pass fell incomplete but the officials called defensive holding, which gave KP another chance. Now, on third and one from the five, Gately got the call, spun out of a tackle in the backfield, and scored for the second time.

“Rudy doesn’t look like your typical pound back but he finds a way to make things happen when he gets the ball in his hands,” said Lee. “Craw was able to do it and the offensive line had a response. We made some big pass plays. We made plays.”

A short punt on Milford’s next possession meant that the Warriors got the ball back near midfield and they went right back to grinding out first downs. Facing third and nine from the 14, Gately somehow managed to keep his feet moving, breaking tackles in the backfield again, and moving the pile down to the five for a first and goal. Two plays later, Cantave punched it in from the three for a 31-16 lead.

Thomas Brewster broke up a pass play on the sideline and Jake Sullivan sacked Cornelius (8-of-20, 63 yards), not allowing Milford to put together a drive to try and cut into the lead in the final two minutes.

When asked how it feels to be heading back to a state title game, Hastings replied, “It’s never felt better. We come to play every week. We don’t care who we’re against.”

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

Olson remarked, “I’m proud of my kids. We’re still trying to build this and for us to be in this game is huge for this program.”
This will be the fifth Div. 2 (2016 was D1A) Super Bowl in a row, and eighth in the last 11 years, that has featured either King Philip or Mansfield. Only two times in the past 11 years, 2014 and 2015, has the Hock not had at least one team reach a Super Bowl.

King Philip (9-1) will face Franklin on Thanksgiving Day to decide the Kelley-Rex division title and then will await the winner of No. 1 Catholic Memorial and No. 4 Marshfield in the Super Bow. Milford (8-3) will face Taunton in the first Thanksgiving Day matchup between the two programs.

“It feels awesome,” Lee said about heading back to Gillette. He added with a laugh, “I love that we have a humungous Thanksgiving Day game against, you know, the third best team in the state before. We can’t enjoy it for long.”

Friday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 11/19/21

Today’s games are listed below.

Football
Division 2 State Semifinal
#3 King Philip, 31 vs. #2 Milford, 16 – Final – Click here for a recap and photo gallery of this game.
1st Quarter: (M) Evan Cornelius 4-yard rush, Nicholas Araujo XP good; (KP) Crawford Cantave 70-yard rush, Matthew Kelley XP good; (KP) Rudy Gately 49-yard rush, M. Kelley XP good.
2nd Quarter: (M) N. Araujo 38-yard field goal; (M) Tyler Lane 33-yard block punt return, XP no good.
3rd Quarter: (KP) M. Kelley 38-yard field goal.
4th Quarter: (KP) R. Gately 5-yard rush, M. Kelley XP good; (KP) C. Cantave 3-yard rush, M. Kelley XP good.

Joseph, King Philip Deny Mansfield For Final Four Berth

King Philip football
King Philip captains celebrate with their D2 State Final Four trophy after beating Mansfield. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
ByRyanLanigan_2016FollowRyanLanigan_2016
 
 
 WRENTHAM, Mass. — King Philip senior Jonathan Joseph knew Friday night’s clash with rival Mansfield was going to be his final game played at Macktaz Field.

He wasn’t going to let it be a loss.

Joseph had a pair of fourth quarter interceptions that came on back-to-back drives inside the final five minutes to help #3 King Philip secure a 21-14 win over #6 Mansfield, the second time the Warriors beat the Hornets this season.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

Despite the MIAA’s switch to a state-wide format, King Philip and Mansfield clashed for the fourth straight postseason. Since the 2017 season, the Warriors and Hornets have played a total of nine times with KP taking a 5-4 edge with the win on Friday night.

“You luck out and have a good game against them the first time and now we’re going to see them again and they’re going to be angry,” said

King Philip football

King Philip head coach Brian Lee. “If you kick a hornet’s nest, you know it’s going to come back at you. Mike [Redding] has been in too many big games, he always has his team ready.

“They were able to throw the ball and do some other things that they had trouble doing the first time, they were much improved and gave us everything we could handle. Right up to the end, blocking that field goal. It was a great battle but it would be nice to play someone else once in a while.”

King Philip football

King Philip scored on its first two drives of the game but then the offense stalled and the Warriors had four straight series spanning over the second, third, and fourth quarters all end in a punt. And it looked like another drive was in jeopardy as the Warriors were faced with 4th and 3 from the Mansfield 33-yard line.

The Warriors went for it on fourth down and senior quarterback Charlie Grant hit classmate Crawford Cantave along the right sideline for 30 yards. Two plays later, Rudy Gately (16 carries, 74 yards) burst up the middle for a 2-yard touchdown. Matthew Kelley’s third successful point after made it 21-14 with 4:32 to play.




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Mansfield went to the air on the first play of the ensuing drive and it looked like the pass would fall incomplete when it went over the receivers’ head, but Joseph made an incredible diving catch to haul in the interception and get the Warriors the ball back.

“When he walks by, he’s not that big, not much there to look at but he’s a great kid and a captain for us,” Lee said of Joseph, who is listed on the roster at 5’9, 170-pounds. “He’s all heart. He’s been coming along getting better and better, working on his confidence. In the spring season, we yanked him a couple of times but he came back and responded the right way, just working hard to make himself a captain.”

King Philip football

KP moved the ball behind carries by Gately and Will Astorino but on third down, Caden Colby and Ryan Sullivan stopped the Warriors in the backfield. On top of that, an unsportsmanlike dead ball foul put the Warriors into 4th and 21 from the 28-yard line, likely changing the play call from a field goal (with the line of scrimmage at the 13) to a pass play.

Mansfield was hit with a pass interference call to erase KP’s 15-yard penalty, and then too many men moved the ball five more yards, but the Warriors were still looking at 4th and 1 and Lee elected to send Kelley and the field goal unit out.

The Hornets blocked the field goal, with Jean getting through the line and a paw on the ball. It bounced all the way to the 34-yard line where Mansfield took over with 1:35 to play, but no timeouts.

Conner Zukowski (13/22, 172 yards) hit Ryan DeGirolamo for an 11-yard screen to get the visitors near midfield but two plays later, Joseph intercepted a pass over the middle and clinched the win for KP.

“I didn’t want my last game here to end with a loss, that’s all I was thinking about the whole game,” Joseph said. “I wanted that first one so bad, I wanted the game to be over there. On the second one, I was just thinking just do it again. I trusted all my teammates out there.

“It’s hard to beat a team twice, we had to prepare for this. This game was tough, we had some ups and downs throughout the game. But we were prepared. We play them twice almost every year, it always seems to come down to the playoffs with them.”

The majority of offensive fireworks came early with the Warriors entering the end zone on its first two drives and Mansfield scoring one of its two touchdowns on its second drive of the game — all coming within the first 15 minutes of the contest.




Mansfield lined up to go for it on fourth down on its first drive of the game but the snap came before Zukowski was ready and KP ended up with ideal starting position at the Hornets’ 22-yard line.

A chop block only delayed the Warriors as Cantave gained 15-yards on the next play and Gately pounded it in from a yard out two plays later for an early 7-0 lead.

The Hornets orchestrated an immediate response, going 80 yards on just seven plays to knot the score. Drew Sacco (15 carries, 70 yards) and CJ Bell (102 total yards offensively) moved the sticks on back-to-back runs, and Zukowski found Bell for 37 yards later in the drive to move into the red zone. Two plays later, Sacco plowed his way up the middle for a 4-yard touchdown, and James Gilleran’s point after made it 7-7 with 30 seconds left in the opening quarter.

King Philip football

Then it was KP’s chance to respond as the Warriors answered with an 80-yard drive of its own, taking eight plays to find the end zone. Grant and Gately each had first down runs early on and Cantave carried for nine yards to get over midfield. Three plays later, Grant found Danny Clancy in single coverage over the middle and dropped a 37-yard touchdown pass in stride to go back in front, 14-7.

The middle quarters belonged to the defense. Jean and James Fichera combined on a sack to put an end to a KP drive in Hornet territory, Mark DeGirolamo caused havoc on the line all night, and Caden Colby had a big tackle in the open field on another third down. For KP, Sean King and Hunter Hastings helped stuff the Mansfield run while Nathan Kearney, Jake Sullivan, Thomas Brewster, and Nick Viscusi continued to deny the Hornets.

“You’re playing in the toughest league and then you have to go through it twice,” Lee said about a second encounter with Mansfield, and next up Milford. “I know there are other great teams and it’s nice when you’re playing someone that hasn’t seen you. I knew this would be a battle, they know us way too well so you knew it was going to be the game it was.”

Mansfield finally put together another lengthy drive to find the end zone. The Hornets marched 74 yards on 11 plays to level the game late in the third quarter. Early runs from Sacco and Bell moved the sticks to get the offense in a rhythm, and sophomore Trevor Foley (five catches, 71 yards) went up and stole a pass from the defensive back to haul in a 32-yard pass.

Despite a total of three false starts on the drive, Mansfield found its way into the end zone, and on 2nd and goal from the 10-yard line, Zukowski found Foley open in the corner to make it 14-14 with 1:25 to play.

Mansfield forced a three and out on KP’s next drive but the Hornets coughed up a fumble on their first play. It was one of three fourth quarter turnovers for the visitors.

“A lot of shooting ourselves in the foot,” said Mansfield head coach Mike Redding. “The snap in the first quarter hands them a touchdown, we lined up wrong on the fake punt and I thought we would have had great field position for a chance to take the lead. Then the turnovers in the second half killed us. We moved the ball pretty well but their secondary made some plays. I told them, it was a great effort, we played tough and so much better than the first game but we just continue to shoot ourselves in the foot at the worst time and in these games, it’s going to kill you.”

Mansfield’s defense stood tall after the fumble but its next drive stalled and after moving the sticks once, the Hornets had three incompletions and had to punt.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

“I’m glad someone from the Hockomock is going to Gillette, I don’t know who to root for,” Redding said. “We have a heck of a league, I’m betting North is going to be in the Final Four [in Division 3], Franklin [Division 1] is going, and Foxboro [Division 4] could go. And we have two in Division 2. We’ve lost four games but it’s to Franklin, KP twice, and Milford — all of them are top four teams, maybe top two in their divisions in the state. So we’ve lost games but to the highest level of competition so I’m proud of the way we’ve battled all year.”

King Philip football

King Philip (8-1) will now take on another Kelley-Rex division foe in Milford in the D2 State Semifinal, with the date, time, and a neutral location still to be announced. The Warriors handed the Hawks their first loss of the season in mid-October on a last-second field goal from Kelley.

“Milford is definitely feeling it, they got a big win over Natick,” Lee said. “Coach [Olson] has done a great job with that program, turned them around, and made them a contender right off the bat. So it’s on.”