Tag: Rocco Scarpellini

KP Runs Through Mansfield Challenge to Stay Top

King Philip football
KP senior Crawford Cantave dives into the end zone to put the Warriors up 24-0 in the third quarter against Mansfield. (Josh Perry/HockomockSports.com)

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WRENTHAM, Mass. – On the fourth play of Friday night’s regular season finale at Macktaz Field, Mansfield’s Caden Colby intercepted a pass by King Philip quarterback Charlie Grant. The Hornets got the ball in KP territory, but the Warriors defense held and forced a three-and-out. On its next three possessions, KP ran the ball 25 straight times and all three drives ended with points on the board.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

The Warriors dominated the line of scrimmage throughout, junior tailback Rudy Gately ran for 171 yards (including 130 in the first half alone) on 28 carries, and three players found the end zone, as KP earned a 24-6 victory. With the win, KP remains unbeaten in league play, tied with Franklin for the Kelley-Rex division lead, and likely secured a home game in the opening round of the playoffs.

“I’ve got no problem throwing the ball,” said KP coach Brian Lee, “it was just the run was going to be there tonight. It was working and it also takes the clock away. When we did call pass plays, they turned into long runs. It was nice.”

Mansfield missed an opportunity on that opening drive to send a message and take hold of the game. The Hornets never seemed to find any momentum on the offensive side of the ball. Gately ended the first half with more carries (21) than Mansfield had plays (19).

“We were very, very poor on offense,” Mansfield coach Mike Redding explained. “Almost every possession, at some point, we’d have a five-yard penalty and it’s tough to go 10 yards against these guys in three plays, trying to go 15 and now you end up in third and nine, third and eight and you’re playing into their hands.”

After a big tackle for loss by Christopher Sesay and a third down pass breakup by Nick Viscusi, KP stopped Mansfield’s first possession. Crawford Cantave returned the punt 25 yards out to the Warriors 35 and then the ground game went to work. A 20-yard carry for Gately got the ball into the red zone. William Astorino went up the gut for six down to the 11 and two plays later Gately went right up the middle to make it 7-0.

The Hornets dropped the ensuing kick out of bounds, starting at their own four. They went three-and-out again and KP got the ball at the Mansfield 35. Gately got carries on six of the seven plays on the drive, getting as far as the four, but Braeden Veno made a big play in the backfield and KP had to settle for a 23-yard kick from Matthew Kelley and a 10-0 lead.

Mansfield was in desperate need of a spark and seemed to get some life when Drew Sacco and Rocco Scarpellini (16 carries, 82 yards) combined for 20 yards on the first two plays of the next drive. On third and four from the Mansfield 44, Conner Zukowski (5-of-17, 43 yards) was nearly intercepted by Jonathan Joseph. The Hornets went for trickery to try and jump start things, as punter James Gilleran stepped up and threw a pass to James Fichera for 20 yards down to the KP 36.

Scarpellini followed it with a 14-yard carry and the Hornets were in business. After an incomplete pass, the Hornets picked up a false start penalty. Facing third and long, Zukowski’s pass was broken up by Kelley and on fourth down the pass dropped incomplete, giving the ball back to the Warriors.

“The defense bailed us out of that,” said Lee. “We made two bonehead plays and I think the difference in this game [compared] to other games was we were able to respond. Usually, that would just open the floodgate and let them score and then we’re playing in this back and forth.

It was a missed opportunity and KP took advantage. The Warriors marched 75 yards in 11 plays to open up a three-score lead. Gately got the call eight of the 11 plays on the drive, with Astorino and Cantave also getting carries, as the offensive line of Hunter Hastings, Sean King, Dan Nineve, Amro Ismail, and Logan Van Vaerenewyck was getting a great push on every snap.

On first down from the Hornets 22, Grant dropped back to pass, saw no open receivers, scrambled to buy time, and then cut upfield into open space. He weaved through the Mansfield secondary for the touchdown.

“They played so much man and there weren’t a lot of dudes open, so we just said hey Charlie just go for it,” Lee explained. “When he threw the pick, afterwards I’m like why force it. If you’ve got the edge, just go ahead and run. He looked like the Charlie of Pop Warner days, running around, he was the nice athlete on the field, and I’m like you can still do all that.”

The Hornets got the ball to start the second half, but any thoughts of a comeback were quickly diminished. A false start backed Mansfield up five yards and Viscusi broke up a pass on third and long. KP started its first drive of the second half at the Mansfield 44.

A holding call denied Gately a good run, but Grant again scrambled for a big gain to get the first down at the 30. Four plays later, KP was inside the 10 and Cantave got the call. He went straight up the middle, took a hit at the two, and dove full extension to cross the goal line and make it 24-0.

“They execute up front, both backs ran hard, and they controlled the line,” Redding said. “We had a really hard time getting them in third and longs and the couple times we did the Grant kid did a great job running out of the pocket. We couldn’t make a play to get them off the field.”

If Mansfield had any chance of a comeback, it needed to score on its next possession. The Hornets were finally able to string together a long drive, going 72 yards on 16 plays to get on the board. Fichera and Scarpellini kicked things off with carries of 10 and 19 yards to get into KP territory.

On fourth and nine, Zukowski hit CJ Bell for 10 yards and the first. With another first down at the 11, Scarpellini was stuffed for no gain by Luke Danson, then got dragged down after two yards by Hastings. Sesay sacked Zukowski for a loss of five and it looked like another chance gone by for the offense, but on fourth down Zukowski moved in the pocket to give himself some time and fired a bullet into Bell, who made a nice leaping grab for the score.

The conversion failed and the Hornets trailed 24-6 with 10:17 to play.

Mansfield got the ball one more time at its own 20. Thomas Brewster made a couple of nice plays to break up passes and the Hornets turned it over on downs, allowing KP to run out the clock.

King Philip (6-1) will await its seeding in the Div. 2 state tournament, but the Warriors know that they will also face a Thanksgiving Day showdown against Franklin that will decide the Kelley-Rex champ. It is the first time since 2009 that the holiday meeting had this much on the line.

“So much fun,” Lee said. “It’s almost like we pause the season and then we’ll think about Thanksgiving when we get there. The Hock has just felt like playoffs the whole season.”

Mansfield (5-3) is also awaiting its seed in the D2 tournament and hoping to get at least one game at Alumni Field.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

Mansfield Pulls Away In Second Half to Beat Taunton

Mansfield Football
Mark DeGirolamo (66) returns his second half interception that led to a Mansfield touchdown in its win against Taunton. (Josh Perry/HockomockSports.com)

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MANSFIELD, Mass. – When the offense is struggling to produce points, it is critical to take advantage of field position, opponent’s mistakes, and big plays by the defense. On Friday night at Alumni Field, Mansfield’s offense managed to capitalize on all of those in the second half.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

The Hornets had three possessions start in Taunton territory after halftime and they were able to find the end zone on all three, turning a 3-0 lead into a 24-8 victory. Sophomore Trevor Foley continued his impressive breakout season with a pair of touchdown receptions and had an interception on the other side of the ball as well.

“You’re in at 3-0 but they’re one play away from going up 7-3 and the game flips on its head,” said Mansfield coach Mike Redding. “So, we said at halftime next score we’re up 10-0 with a two-score lead or they’re up and we’re scrambling from behind. I think everybody took a deep breath when we got it to 10 and we continued to play really good defense to get it to 17.”

For the third league game in a row, Taunton coach Brad Sidwell was rueing missed opportunities that cost the Tigers a chance at picking up a marquee win over one of the league’s perennial powers.

“We came out of halftime thinking at 3-0 we’re hanging in there and then it just blew up on us,” he said. “That was just a series of about 10 plays that were real tough. I did think our guys fought hard but that sequence of plays at the start of the second half got us.”

Mansfield’s offense looked strong out of the gates, as it marched into Taunton territory on its first possession behind the running of Rocco Scarpellini (18 carries, 82 yards), but the Hornets failed to get three yards on two plays and the drive stalled at the 35. Taunton immediately looked deep on its first two plays, but Jacob Leonard’s passes were just out of reach and Pedro Cruz ended the possession with a sack.

After Mansfield went three-and-out, Taunton got the game’s first big play when Leonard ( 8-of-17, 115 yards) found Jose Touron down the sideline for 32 yards to the Mansfield 45. The Tigers got only a yard further and were forced to punt.

Both defenses were playing well. John Castillo and Ryan MacDougall combined to stuff Scarpellini for a loss to start another Mansfield three-and-out and sacks by James Fichera and Jephte Jean made sure Taunton went nowhere.

The Hornets would put together one scoring drive in the opening half. Taking over at the 28, Mansfield marched down to the red zone. Fichera had an 11-yard rush and then a 25-yard reception on a wheel route to get the Hornets to the Taunton 30. On fourth and three, Conner Zukowski (7-of-11, 75 yards) hit Foley for six yards and a first down to the 17.

Taunton came through with a massive defensive stand. Nathan Keenan stepped up quickly to stop Fichera for no gain on first down, Faisal Mass stuffed Scarpellini for a loss of a yard. MacDougall chased down Zukowski after a short gain on third down and the Hornets had to settle for a 32-yard James Gilleran field goal and a 3-0 lead at the break.

“First half we just never got into a flow,” Redding admitted. “They were playing good defense. Right now, we’ve just got to find a way to convert third or fourth and short. That right now is our Achille’s heel. We’re giving up possessions when it’s third and three and we can’t do that in big games.”

The turning point of the game would happen on Taunton’s possession to start the third quarter. Keenan slipped on the return and the Tigers started at their own seven. Jean came through the line and stuffed a run for a loss of three. Two completions later, the Tigers would try to punt from the 16, but the snap was over the head of Tyler Wynn, who scooped the ball in his own end zone and tried to make a break for it. He was tackled two yards short of the line of scrimmage.

On third and seven, Zukowski fooled the defense with a play action pass to a wide open Foley in the back corner of the end zone. The 11-yard score put the Hornets up by two possessions.

“It’s something we’ve been fighting against since I got here, just the blowing up of plays and keep surmounting again and again and again and it just gets behind you too much,” Sidwell said.

Foley made a great play to end Taunton’s next possession, breaking late on a deep throw over the middle and out-jumping the receiver to pull in the pick. Taunton’s defense held, but again a turnover ended any chance of the Tigers putting together a drive. On the first play, Mark DeGirolamo sniffed out a screen pass and pulled in an interception.

A penalty forced Mansfield back to the Taunton 42, but nine players later the Hornets were back in the end zone. CJ Bell picked up a key fourth down with a toss to the right and Scarpellini would push the ball over the goal line from 11 yards out with a lot of help from his offensive line.

Taunton’s offense continued to find things difficult. Jared Fraone made a nice tackle on Trent Santos on the outside and Cruz came flying through for his second sack of the night to quickly end another possession.

Mansfield took back over at the Tigers 40 and put the game away. Scarpellini had an 18-yard rush and Dana Johnson was able to recover a botched hand-off to keep the drive alive at the Taunton 19. On the next play, Zukowski found Foley for the score and a 24-0 lead.

The Tigers did get one drive to go their way and showed why Redding had been nervous about his team only leading by three at the break. Leonard went deep down the sideline to Santos, who pulled in a one-handed grab for 41 yards into Mansfield territory. A pass interference call on the next play got the Tigers to the 13. On fourth down. Leonard was able to hit Touron for the touchdown and Santos got to the corner to punch in the conversion.

Sidwell said, “Our defense played great. We were bad on offense. We had a few chances in the first half but they covered us well and we’ve got to find a way to get those balls completed.”

Redding quickly looked ahead to next week’s showdown with King Philip. He said, “If we win it gets us a home game, if we lose we’re going on the road as a lower seed, so I told these guys playoffs start next Friday at KP. We’re playing for positioning and to make a run.”

Mansfield (5-2) will travel to Macktaz Field next week to face King Philip, which is currently tied for the division lead. Taunton (4-3) try for its first league win of the season when it hosts Attleboro.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

Friday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 10/22/21

Today’s games are listed below.

Football
Franklin, 21 @ Attleboro, 19 – Final
1st Quarter: (A) Anthony Salviati 25-yard field goal; (F) Jared Arone 31-yard pass to Will Tracey, Garrett Portesi XP good.
2nd Quarter: (A) A. Salviati 35-yard field goal; (F) Mack Gulla 3-yard rush, G Portesi XP good; (A) Matt Harvie 11-yard pass to A. Salviati, Josue Salguero XP good.
3rd Quarter: (F) J. Arone 57-yard pass to W. Tracey, G Portesi XP good; (A) Adrian Rivera 3-yard rush, 2pt pass failed.
4th Quarter: No scoring.

Foxboro, 42 @ Canton, 8 – Final – Click here for a Photo Gallery from this game.
1st Quarter: (F) Tom Marcucella 8-yard pass to Rashaad Way, Sam Carpenter XP good; (F) T. Marcucella 76-yard pass to R. Way, S. Carpenter XP good; (F) Dylan Gordon 7-yard rush, S. Carpenter XP good.
2nd Quarter: (F) T. Marcucella 45-yard pass to Dylan Gordon, S. Carpenter XP good; (F) T. Marcucella 20-yard pass to Tom Sharkey, S. Carpenter XP good.
3rd Quarter: (F) D. Gordon 9-yard rush, S. Carpenter XP good.
4th Quarter: (C) Colin Albert 3-yard rush, Charlie Cox 2pt rush good.

Taunton, 8 @ Mansfield, 24 – Final – Click here for a Recap and Photo Gallery from this game.
1st Quarter: No scoring.
2nd Quarter: (M) James Gilleran 32-yard field goal.
3rd Quarter: (M) Conner Zukowski 11-yard pass to Trevor Foley, J. Gilleran XP good.
4th Quarter: (M) Rocco Scarpellini 11-yard rush, J. Gilleran XP good; (M) C. Zukowski 19-yard pass to T. Foley, J. Gilleran XP good; (T) Jacob Leonard 13-yard pass to Jose Touron, Trent Santos 2pt rush good.

Stoughton, 7 @ Milford, 27 – Final
1st Quarter: (S) Jarred Daughtry 25-yard pass to Emmett Pearl, Jonah Ly XP good; (M) Nicholas Araujo 36-yard field goal good.
2nd Quarter: (M) Grant Scudo 7-yard rush, N. Aruajo XP good; (M) Evan Cornelius 11-yard pass to Isaiah Pantalone, N. Araujo XP good.
3rd Quarter: (M) E.Cornelius 10-yard pass to I Pantalone, N. Araujo XP good; (M) N. Araujo 30-yard field goal good.
4th Quarter: No scoring.

North Attleboro, 42 @ Oliver Ames, 12 – Final
1st Quarter: (NA) Tyler Bannon 3-yard rush, Tyler DeMattio XP good; (NA) T. Bannon fumble recovery in the end zone, T. DeMattio XP good.
2nd Quarter: (NA) Greg Berthiaume 32-yard rush, T. DeMattio XP good; (OA) Collin Williamson 72-yard rush, XP failed; (NA) Chase Frisoli 27-yard rush, T. DeMattio XP good; (NA) C. Frisoli 15-yard pass to Jack Munley, T. DeMattio XP good.
3rd Quarter: (NA) Garrett Inglese 1-yard rush, T. DeMattio XP good; (OA) Chad Silva 2-yard rush, XP failed.
4th Quarter: No scoring.

Sharon, 14 @ Hull, 35 – Final










Boys Soccer
Mansfield, 0 @ Franklin, 3 – Final – Franklin scored twice inside a five-minute span in the first half and tacked an important insurance goal just minutes into the second half to get a win over Mansfield, pushing their unbeaten streak to five games. Senior Jack Moran opened the scoring in the 15th minute on a pass from sophomore Sean O’Leary and then junior Ben Costa doubled the advantage in the 20th minute on an assist from classmate Max Tobin. O’Leary extended the lead to 3-0 in the 44th minute, finishing off a chance created by junior Will Krysak.

Milford, 3 vs. Medway, 0 – Final – Sophomore J’remy Chaves scored his first career goal and then added his second to lead Milford to a non-league win over Medway, one of the top rated teams in Division 3. Junior Eduardo Santana put the hosts ahead in the first half on a pass from junior Arthur Tome, a lead the Hawks carried into halftime. Chaves’ first goal came off a pass from junior John Borges while his second was set up by sophomore Nate Dinis.

Sharon, 2 vs. Walpole, 2 – Final

Field Hockey
Foxboro, 3 vs. Medfield, 0 – Final
Milford @ Bellingham, 4:45
Sharon, 1 @ Norwell, 4 – Final

Friday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 10/15/21

Today’s games are listed below.

Football
Mansfield, 23 @ Attleboro, 7 – Final
1st Quarter: (M) CJ Bell 6-yard rush, James Gilleran XP good.
2nd Quarter: (A) Kaiden Murray 1-yard rush, Anthony Salviati XP good; (M) Rocco Scarpellini 5-yard rush, J. Gilleran XP good.
3rd Quarter: (M) Safety.
4th Quarter: (M) Connor Curtis 19-yard rush, J. Gilleran XP good.

Foxboro, 21 @ North Attleboro, 14 – Final – Click here for a recap and photo gallery of this game.
1st Quarter: No scoring.
2nd Quarter: (NA) Tyler Bannon blocked punt, safety.
3rd Quarter: (NA) Chase Frisoli 24-yard pass to Gavin Wells, XP no good; (F) Tom Marcucella 40-yard pass to Rashaad Way, T. Marcucella conversion pass to R. Way.
4th Quarter: (NA) Tyler DeMattio 1-yard rush, Conversion no good; (F) Dylan Gordon 72-yard rush, Sam Carpenter XP good; (F) T. Marcucella 68-yard pass to R. Way, XP blocked.

Milford, 14 @ King Philip, 17 – Final

Stoughton, 31 vs. Brockton, 13 – Final
1st Quarter: (S) Anthony Girolamo 24-yard rush, Conversion no good.
2nd Quarter: (S) Jonah Ly 1-yard rush, Conversion no good; (B) Mauricio Powell 20-yard rush, John Dumas XP good.
3rd Quarter: (S) A. Girolamo 19-yard rush, J. Ly XP good; (S) Jarred Daughtry 5-yard rush, XP no good.
4th Quarter: (B) Jason Wonodi 24-yard rush, XP no good; (S) J. Daughtry 8-yard rush, XP no good.

Sharon, 7 @ Norwell, 32 – Final










Boys Soccer
Canton, 0 @ Oliver Ames, 0 – Final – Oliver Ames hit the post and hit the crossbar but couldn’t find the back of the net and the Tigers and Bulldogs of Canton took a point each. Mathias Taylor, Michael Haikal, Hector Bucio and Diego Rivera had great games for the Tigers while Sasha Priajinski earned his eighth shutout of the season in net.

Foxboro, 4 @ Stoughton, 0 – Final – Foxboro scored twice in each half to pick up two points on the road over Stoughton. The Warriors scored in quick succession in the first half as AJ Carvalho opened the scoring in the 26th minute and then an own goal (credited to John Hollis) doubled the advantage just two minutes later. In the second half, Cam Barreira set up Alex Penders in the 60th minute for the 3-0 lead and then Barreira capped the scoring with a goal of his own off a feed from Jacob Tessier. Derek Axon notched the shutout in net for Foxboro.

Taunton, 1 @ King Philip, 1 – Final – King Philip and Taunton traded goals, one coming in each half, and the Warriors and Tigers split the two points. Andrew Seropian gave the hosts the lead in the 12th minute, finishing off a pass from Stephen Griffin to make it 1-0. Taunton’s Riley Rebello equalized in the 49th minute, finishing a free kick to the back post to bring the Tigers level.

Milford, 2 @ Mansfield, 0 – Final – Milford used a pair of first half goals to earn two points on the road, splitting the season series with Mansfield. Artur Tome opened the scoring with an assist to Bill Silva. Just minutes later, Eduardo Santana doubled the lead with the assist going to Tome.

Sharon, 0 @ North Attleboro, 3 – Final – The Rocketeers registered a pair of goals before the half hour mark and then put the game away with a third with just 10 minutes to go for a win over Sharon. Quinn Conley earned a penalty for the Rocketeers early in the match and Connor Ward buried the chance from the spot, putting the hosts ahead in the 10th minute. Junior Griffin Rodden doubled the lead in the 28th minute, taking a pass from Givany Carney and finishing. Jaad Ismail’s goal in the 70th minute secured the points for North as the senior finished a corner kick from Ward for a 3-0 lead.




Girls Soccer
Oliver Ames, 1 @ Canton, 0 – Final – Junior Mary Cross scored the lone goal of the game as Oliver Ames claimed a key two points on the road over Davenport for Canton. Cross finished off a pass from Allison Evin in the first half for the lone goal of the game. Emily Meyers earned the shutout in goal for the Tigers.

Stoughton, 0 @ Foxboro, 7 – Final – Foxboro scored four times in the second half to break the game open and keep itself in a first-place tie with OA. Kailee McCabe and Jordan Carman each recorded four points for the Warriors. McCabe scored three times and added an assist, while Carman found the back of the net once and had a hat trick of assists. Lauren Miley scored a brace and DeAnna Hardiman got one. Shayla Ford had a solid game in defense for the Black Knights and Sivannah Marcy was a good outlet up front.

King Philip, 5 @ Taunton, 0 – Final – A day after she tallied a hat trick and five points, Ella Pisani added two more goals and another assist to lift KP to another road win. The Warriors pulled even on points with Franklin for the league lead, having played one more game. Pisani, Brooke Mullins, and Dani Lomuscio all scored in the first half to put KP comfortably ahead. Morgan Norrman, Eilish McGowen, and Pisani each had assist in the opening half. After the break, Pisani completed her brace and Kylie Menendez added the fifth. Paulina Baczkowski and McGowen assisted on the second half goals.

Mansfield, 2 @ Milford, 0 – Final – Tarynn Smith’s brace lifted the Hornets to a road win at Milford, getting Mansfield back on track and keeping it alive in the league title race. Olivia Salisbury made one stop to earn the clean sheet.

North Attleboro, 3 @ Sharon, 1 – Final – Emma Pratt and Abbie Pratt each scored in the first half to put the Rocketeers in front. Autumn Simon scored early in the second half off a Sofia Goclowski assist to cut the North lead in half, but Emma Pratt added her second of the game to seal the two points. Haley Sinacola assisted on each of Emma Pratt’s goals and Caroline Ferrin had the assist on Abbie Pratt’s. North came close several times in the second half, with Steph McKenna, Autumn Hewitt, and Casey Butanowicz narrowly missing. Brayden Rice played well for the Rocketeers in midfield, while Meaghan Dowd, Summer Doherty, and Charlotte Moynihan had good games at the back. Leah Steinberg and Carmen Leonardi played well defensively for the Eagles.

Volleyball
North Attleboro, 3 @ Attleboro, 1 – Final

Canton, 3 @ Fontbonne Academy, 1 – Final – Canton overcame an error-prone opening set to settle in, using a complete team effort to rally for a 3-1 win (23-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-15) on the road at Fontbonne. Talya DeGraw had an all-around good match for the Bulldogs with six kills and 27 digs, Katie Dever played well in the middle with four kills and two blocks, and Kelly MacDonald played strong in the backcourt and served well.

King Philip, 3 @ Walpole, 0 – Final – KP swept Walpole for the second time this season, winning 25-12, 25-15, 25-10 to stay unbeaten. Sami Shore led the way with 11 kills and four aces, while Ahunna James had eight kills and seven digs, and Emily Sawyer finished with seven kills and three blocks. Sofia Reidel had a strong service game with seven aces and Stella Bailey chipped in with four aces and five digs. Samantha Asprelli had another strong defensive match with eight digs.

Taunton, 3 vs. Durfee, 1 – Final – Taunton jumped out to a two-set advantage and took care of business in the fourth to win the match 3-1 (25-15, 25-15, 23-25, 25-14) after dropping a close third set. Angie Lynch had a great all-around game for the Tigers with eight kills, seven digs, four aces, and a block to lead the way. Mikayla Cleary added five kills, four aces, and four blocks while Anna Abouzeid dished out 18 assists and added three kills and a pair of aces. Dani Lofgren (14 digs and excellent serve receive) and Jess Foley (eight digs, three aces) both played well defensively for Taunton.

Franklin Continues Perfect Start By Beating Mansfield

Franklin Football
Jonathan Martins celebrates after catching a fourth quarter touchdown pass to seal Franklin’s first win against Mansfield since 2009. (Josh Perry/HockomockSports.com)

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FRANKLIN, Mass. – It was only seven months ago that Franklin traveled to Alumni Field to open the Fall II season. The Panthers were a young team learning the ropes against a senior-laden, highly-experienced Mansfield squad filled with Super Bowl-winning talent.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

When the two teams met on Friday night at Pisini Stadium, the roles were reversed. Now it was the Panthers that had the experience and they took advantage at every opportunity. Jared Arone (9-for-13, 206 yards) tossed four touchdown passes and the Panthers beat Mansfield 28-10. in front of a packed house.

It was Franklin’s first win against the Hornets since going undefeated in the 2009 regular season. It also ended Mansfield’s 19-game win streak, which had been the longest active streak in the state.

“We had a normal summer, a normal weight program, a normal training camp where we could meet and walk through and do all the things that you’re supposed to do and we let our kids just be kids this year finally,” said Franklin coach Eian Bain about the growth of his team over the past few months. “I think they’ve grown a lot as people, as men, as students, as players.”










Despite being 3-0, Mansfield has struggled early in games and had to come from behind in each of the past two weeks. The pattern repeated itself on Friday, as the Hornets hurt themselves with penalties, regularly finding themselves in long-yardage situations, missed a field goal, and were unable to finish drives.

Mansfield coach Mike Redding admitted that was too much to overcome against a team as good as Franklin. He said, “So sloppy and I think tonight was the first time that we played young almost the whole night. Tonight it was like we could never be consistent. We just kind of took a step back in terms of execution on both sides of the ball.”

After forcing a three-and-out, thanks to pass breakups by Jase Lyons and Devine Johnson, Franklin took over for its second possession at its own 32. Two plays and a first down later, Arone went deep right down the middle of the field, hitting Shane Kindred (five catches, 106 yards) in stride for a 54-yard touchdown. Garrett Portesi’s extra point made it 7-0.

“You want to always play with a lead,” said Bain. “It gives you a little flexibility, allows you now to panic, and we hit those big plays early. It also put some pressure on them to get out of their comfort zone.”

Another Mansfield three-and-out gave Franklin a chance to double its lead, but Trevor Foley intercepted Arone at the Hornets 39. Mansfield’s offense finally started to get things going.

Conner Zukowski (13-of-27, 141 yards) hit CJ Bell for 27 yards down the sideline to get into the red zone. A sack by Nick Quintina (one of five Franklin sacks in the game) pushed the Hornets back eight yards and Luke Davis made a nice play on the ball to deny a touchdown pass to Foley. The Hornets were forced to try a 32-yard field goal by James Gilleran, but it slid wide right.

Franklin fed off the defensive stand, putting together a 14-play, 84-yard scoring drive. Three times Arone found Kindred for first downs and Mack Gulla (32 carries, 164 yards) had nine rushes on the drive. On third and goal from the eight, Arone was able to buy time in the pocket, eventually rolling out to his right and spying Grayson Hunter open in the back corner of the end zone.

The visitors needed a spark to try and get something going before halftime. On third and seven, Foley made a nice sliding grab to get a first down. A pass interference call helped get Mansfield to the 24 and then Zukowski hit Bell for 21 more to get inside the five. Drew Sacco would get Mansfield on the board, taking a big hit at the goal line but squeezing across to make it 14-7.




Mansfield got the ball coming out of the break with a chance to tie the game, but once again the Hornets struggled to finish off a drive. Sacco broke an 18-yard run around the left side and a screen pass to Rocco Scarpellini went for 23 down to the Franklin 11. That’s where things stalled. Sacco dove on errant toss for a loss of a couple and on third down Jonathan Martins pressured Zukowski into an incompletion. Gilleran nailed a 30-yarder and the lead was down to four.

A mistake on the ensuing kick pinned Franklin back at its own four. It looked like a turning point in the game where, in the past, Mansfield would suddenly turn things around and find a way to win. Instead, the Panthers went 96 yards and extended the lead.

The drive started with an offsides penalty and then eight straight carries by Gulla. The Panthers were controlling the line of scrimmage, winning the battle in the trenches and marching downfield. After converting on third down into Mansfield territory, Franklin went for the home run. Arone threw a strike to Will Tracey on the far sideline and he hauled in the 41-yard score.

Redding said, “Gulla was as advertised. He’s a solid kid, but I think he was faster than we expected. We handled him okay but they did enough to set up the pass game and, when they did throw, they got some huge pass plays out of it. They had a good little combination going.”

A Gulla fumble would give Mansfield one last chance to try and get back into the game with 8:24 to play, but the Franklin defense continued to cover well and to pressure Zukowski. A sack by Jack Marino and another pass breakup by Davis helped the Panthers get the ball back at the Hornets 39.

“We’ve got a lot of really good athletes playing on defense,” said Bain. “They run well and they’re aggressive and they’re smart and we’re able to get in and out of a lot of looks and packages and keep the offense off-balance.”

Three plays later, on fourth and four, Franklin caught Mansfield in a blitz. Martins was free down the seam and Arone picked out his wide open tight end for a back-breaking 34-yard score.

“This a huge moment, Mansfield is a great program, but wins are not our goals,” Bain said when asked about staying focused on the schedule ahead. “It’s an elite result but we can’t forget that reaching our goals every day got us this result, so tomorrow and then Sunday and Monday we’ve got to keep achieving greatness every day.”

For Redding and the Hornets, they face undefeated Milford next, knowing that a second loss would effectively end their chances at claiming another league title. He explained, “I don’t know if anyone can run the table. So, next week is do or die. If we bring our ‘A’ game then we have a shot to win. If we stay sloppy, then we’re going to struggle. But I like our kids’ character and I think we’ll be back next Friday.”

Franklin (4-0) will try to keep its perfect season going next week with a visit from Taunton. Mansfield (3-1) will host Milford at Alumni Field.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

Mansfield Shakes Off Stoughton, Cruises To Big Win

Rocco Scarpellini Mansfield football
Mansfield running back Rocco Scarpellini (22) is tackled by a host of Stoughton players, including junior Timmy Chung (11). (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
ByRyanLanigan_2016FollowRyanLanigan_2016
 
 
 MANSFIELD, Mass. – Mansfield might be a young team with a lot of inexperience on both sides of the ball, but through three games the Hornets have looked like veterans.

For the third straight game,

Mansfield football

Mansfield rallied from a deficit to earn a win, this time in impressive fashion in the form of a 42-14 win over Stoughton, the first meeting between the longtime Hockomock rivals since 2012.

The Hornets had to score a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to take home a win against St. John’s Shrewsbury after seeing a halftime lead disappear. Last week, it took a last-minute drive the length of the field to force overtime against North Attleboro, a game in which they won in double overtime.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

On Friday night, Stoughton stunned the home side by scoring the first two touchdowns of the game. The Black Knights scored on their second drive of the game and on the first play of the second quarter, and were just five minutes away from taking a 14-0 lead into halftime.

“When the first quarter ended, this was not what I expected to be on the scoreboard at the end,” said Mansfield head coach Mike Redding. “I thought we were going to be in a dog fight and the way it was going, I thought we’d be lucky to pull it out. We were making mistakes, they were capitalizing and they were aggressive on both sides of the ball.”

Mansfield football

Stoughton had to punt after going three-and-out on its first possession of the game, but on Mansfield’s second play of their first drive, the ball came loose on the handoff, and Anthony Girolamo, making his season debut after suffering an injury during the Fall 2 season, pounced on it to give the visitors possession.

The Black Knights got the first down on a gift when the Hornets jumped offside on fourth down but the visitors earned the next one when Girolamo rumbled for 12 yards on a fourth and two situation. On the next play, Jonah Ly bounced to the left side and Girolamo delivered a big block to a member of the secondary, springing Ly for a 14-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 5:38 left in the first quarter.










Stoughton’s defense held when Emmett Pearl came up with a big tackle for no gain on fourth down at the Black Knight 40-yard line, forcing a turnover on downs. A sack from Mark DeGirolamo set Stoughton back but on third and 10, the Knights ran a screen play and sophomore quarterback Jarred Daughtry found Ly on the left side and he took off down the sideline. Junior Tyler Noel came up with the final block and Ly went in for a 50-yard score and a 14-0 lead just moments into the second quarter.

Mansfield football

But from there, Mansfield showed how quickly it can change a game.

The Hornets overcame self-inflicted penalties to complete their largest drive of the game: 15 plays for 73 yards, capped by a two-yard plunge from Rocco Scarpellini. Stoughton looked to have a huge stop on third down in the red zone but were flagged for pass interference.

Mansfield football

Mansfield converted the short third down and Scarpellini scored on the next play to halve the deficit with 4:04 left until halftime.

Momentum completely swung in favor of the Hornets when senior Braeden Veno came up with a strip sack on Stoughton’s next drive and Jephte Jean recovered for the home team.

Five plays later, the Hornets found the end zone. Junior Conner Zukowski (15-for-18, 174 yards, three touchdowns) floated a screen pass to sophomore Brian Butler, who won the jump ball just over a Stoughton defender and went in for a 6-yard touchdown. Mansfield knotted the score, 14-14, on James Gilleran’s point after with 21 seconds left in the first half.

“The big drive was the first touchdown, we had all those penalties and still overcame it and got it to 14-7, and just a little bit of change in momentum and kind of took some pressure off,” Redding said. “Then we get the fumble and another one before halftime and that just changed the whole game, kind of flipped it on its head. If we don’t convert there and it’s 14-0 at halftime, this is a whole different game.”

Mansfield football

Mansfield received the kickoff to start the second half and the offense continued to roll. The Hornets scored on four straight possessions in the second half, the only drive that didn’t end in points was the final one when the clock ran out.




“The second touchdown really hurt,’ said Stoughton head coach Greg Burke. “We should have just run the ball, punted if we had to, and go into half at 14-7. Next thing you know, they’re ahead. They had one or two big runs and they hurt us on a couple of passes. If you don’t move the ball and you give them the ball, you’re in trouble.

“I wish we had a better result but the kids tried. We’re down in numbers overall, we had three starters out. I’m not saying it changes everything but it would have helped for sure. It was great to get Girolamo back, once he gets going he’ll be fine. We had some chances to play better but we just didn’t get it done. But we’ll keep working hard at it.”

It took just four plays for the hosts to find the end zone in the second half. Faced with third and 12 near midfield, Zukowski found sophomore CJ Bell wide open downfield and dropped a pass into his hands. Bell spun free from a tackle and dove across the goal line for a score.

“We knew coming in after looking at their lineup, they have eight or nine kids that play every snap,” Redding said. “I thought that meant we could win the fourth quarter, which turned into maybe we had to score to win in the fourth, but I thought we wore them down a little running the ball.”

Sophomore Trevor Foley came away with an interception on the next Stoughton series and took it all the way to the house for a 50-yard interception return but a block in the back nullified the score. Instead, on the first play of the ensuing series, Zukowski threaded the needle up the seam to Foley for a 24-yard touchdown.

After a Stoughton punt, the Hornets were looking at 3rd and one from midfield. Stoughton sent a lot of pressure up the middle and Scarpellini got free after he bounced out wide, scampering the rest of the way for a 50-yard touchdown.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

Sophomore quarterback Connor Curtis took over midway through the next series and had back-to-back option keepers, the latter going for an 11-yard touchdown to cap the scoring.

“It’s good to know with all the youth that we’ve got some character,” Redding said of the ability to come back in each week so far. “No one has really panicked, I think the kids realized at the end of the [first] quarter we had got get it going in a hurry. But for a bunch of young kids, especially at the skill positions, they don’t seem to get rattled and just move onto the next possession. In all three games, we’ve had a really good 36 minutes but we’ve had a 12-minute span where one quarter we just don’t play well but fortunately, we had enough time to overcome it.

“But we have our hands full the next two weeks with Franklin and Milford back-to-back, whoever did the schedule didn’t do us any favors. We’ve gotta bring our ‘A’ game for 48 minutes for the league schedule, there are some heavy hitters in the Kelley-Rex division. The next two weeks should be fun in the Hockomock.”

Mansfield football (3-0) opens Kelley-Rex division play next week when they hit the road to take on Franklin (3-0), who took down Duxbury on Friday night. Stoughton (1-2) is also back on the road, taking a trip down Route 138 to take on Oliver Ames (1-2).

Friday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 09/24/21

Today’s games are listed below.

Football
Canton, 14 @ Dedham, 3 – Final

Foxboro, 51 vs. Plymouth South, 14 – Final – Click here for a Recap and Photo Gallery from this game.
1st Quarter: (F) Tom Marcucella 18-yard pass to Tommy Sharkey, Sam Carpenter XP good; (F) Safety; (F) Dylan Gordon 14-yard rush, S. Carpenter XP good; (F) T. Marcucella 16-yard pass to Rashaad Way, S. Carpenter XP good.
2nd Quarter: (F) D. Gordon 12-yard rush, S. Carpenter XP good; (PS) Casious Johnson 76-yard rush, Ian Wernik XP good; (F) D. Gordon 5-yard rush, S. Carpenter XP good.
3rd Quarter: (F) T. Marcucella 19-yard pass to R. Way, S. Carpenter XP good; (PS) C. Johnson 80-yard rush, I. Wernik XP good; (F) D. Gordon 59-yard rush, S. Carpenter XP good.
4th Quarter: No scoring.

Franklin, 27 @ Duxbury, 14 – Final
1st Quarter: No scoring.
2nd Quarter: (D) Matt Festa 22-yard pass to Brady Madigan, Dennen Sullivan XP good; (D) M. Festa 26-yard pass to Chris Walsh, D. Sullivan XP good; (F) Jared Arone 15-yard pass to Shane Kindred, XP blocked; (F) J. Arone 35-yard pass to Will Tracey, Garrett Portesi XP good.
3rd Quarter: No scoring.
4th Quarter: (F) J. Arone 30-yard pass to Will Deschenes, J. Arone conversion pass to S. Kindred; (F) Mack Gulla 46-yard rush, XP blocked.

Stoughton, 14 @ Mansfield, 42 – Final – Click here for a Recap and Photo Gallery from this game.
1st Quarter: (S) Jonah Ly 14-yard rush, J. Ly XP good.
2nd Quarter: (S) Jarred Daughtry 50-yard pass to J. Ly, J Ly XP good; (M) Rocco Scarpellini 2-yard rush, James Gilleran XP good; (M) Conner Zukowski 7-yard pass to Brian Butler, J. Gilleran XP good.
3rd Quarter: (M) C. Zukowski 46-yard pass to CJ Bell, J. Gilleran XP good; (M) C. Zukowski 24-yard pass to Trevor Foley, J. Gilleran XP good; (M) R. Scarpellini 50-yard rush, J. Gilleran XP good.
4th Quarter: (M) Connor Curtis 11-yard rush, J. Gilleran XP good.

Oliver Ames, 34 vs. Bedford, 27 – Final

Taunton, 28 @ Middleboro, 8 – Final
1st Quarter: No scoring.
2nd Quarter: (T) Evan Perrotta 8-yard rush, Nathan Keenan XP good.
3rd Quarter: (T) Jacob Leonard 6-yard pass to Jose Touron, N. Keenan XP good; (T) J. Leonard 32-yard pass to Isaiah Williams, N. Keenan XP good.
4th Quarter: (M) Jacob Briggs 5-yard pass to John Chor, J. Briggs conversion pass to Isaiah Furtado; (T) E. Perrotta 34-yard rush, N. Keenan XP good.

Sharon, 0 @ Dover-Sherborn, 42 – Final










Boys Soccer
Attleboro, 3 @ Taunton, 3 – Final – Click here for a Recap and Photo Gallery from this game.

Canton, 0 @ North Attleboro, 0 – Final – It was a battle between the boxes for the Bulldogs and the Rocketeers, settling for a scoreless draw and a point apiece. North threatened with a pair of dangerous crosses from Kaden Burns in the second half but couldn’t find the other end of the service. Canton had a pair of dangerous second half corners but couldn’t convert. North head coach Geoff Burgess praised the defensive effort of Brody Rosenberg and Jaad Ismail.

Foxboro, 5 @ Sharon, 2 – Final – Foxboro built a 2-1 lead by halftime and then pumped in three more in the second half to take two points on the road at Gavin Pond against Sharon. Seniors Matt Angelini and Jacob Tessier each scored a pair of goals to pace the attack for the visitors while sophomore defender Ian Foley tacked on another goal in the win.

Franklin, 0 @ Mansfield, 0 – Final – Mansfield senior Jack Lasbury-Casey denied the visiting Panthers on a pair of good goal scoring chances late to preserve a draw and a point for the hosts. The Hornets have yet to concede on the season with Lasbury-Casey notching his sixth straight shutout to start the season.

Oliver Ames, 7 @ Stoughton, 0 – Final – Freshman Casey Milliken scored his first career hat trick and the Tigers rolled on the road for their fourth victory of the season. Milliken opened the scoring off an assist from sophomore Carney, added his second to make it 4-0 on a pass from Clide Neau, and completed the hat trick on a feed from Hector Bucio for a 6-0 lead. Bucio, Neau, Ralph Vache, and senior Sam Schoenfeld all scored for the Tigers while Michael Haikal, Mathias Taylor and John Dobbin all had assists. Sasha Priajinski recored his second shutout of the season.




Girls Soccer
Taunton, 0 @ Attleboro, 4 – Final – Jamie Davies had a brace and an assist, powering Attleboro to its fourth win of the season. Davies set up Bethany Alves for the opening goal of the game after 14 minutes and then doubled the lead, taking a pass from Ayla Santoro, to make it 2-0 midway through the half. Davies added her second and the team’s third shortly after the break, assisted by Avery Vieira. Emily Khang sealed the win with a goal from an Angelic Duran assist.

North Attleboro, 2 @ Canton, 2 – Final – Canton extended its unbeaten run to four games, securing a point against North Attleboro on senior night. North Attleboro took the lead on a 40-yard blast on a free kick from Haley Sinacola and then salvaged a point with a goal with less than 10 minutes to go. Brayden Rice connected on a volley from just outside the box in the 72nd minute to bring the visitors level. Gabriella Herivaux had a goal and an assist for the Bulldogs, while Emily McCabe added the second. Freshman Paige Sullivan continued her impressive rookie campaign and classmate Emma Cahill had a nice pass leading to McCabe’s goal. North Attleboro head coach Bill Wallace praised the play of Casey Butanowicz, Charlotte Moynihan, Summer Doherty, and Brook Sullivan in front of Maddie Ferrin.

Sharon, 0 @ Foxboro, 2 – Final – Click here for a Photo Gallery from this game. Kailee McCabe continued to be practically unstoppable, scoring both goals to extend Foxboro’s win streak to six games. McCabe scored in the first half off an assist by Grace Riley. In a hard-fought second half, the Warriors were finally able to double the lead when Lauren Miley played a perfect through ball that split the Sharon defenders. McCabe ran onto it and calmly slid the ball past Sharon’s freshman keeper Autumn Simon, who had an impressive game for the Eagles. Amber Marcus-Blank and Jordanna Morris also played well in the Sharon defense, trying to keep track of attackers McCabe and Jordan Carman. Sofia Goclowski had another solid game in the Sharon midfield, battling with Foxboro midfielder Erin Foley, but an injury to forward Wendy Wooden limited the chances that the Eagles were able to create.

Mansfield, 1 @ Franklin, 0 – Final – Abby Jean scored midway through the first half off an assist from Katie Miller to give Mansfield its fourth straight win against Franklin. The Hornets also beat the Panthers three times last fall, and all four games finished 1-0. Mansfield’s back line of Kara Santos, Gabby Smith, Kayla Doherty, and Anna Darlington played great to limit the Panthers, forcing goalie Olivia Salisbury to make only one save to get the clean sheet. Franklin struggled to get into its typical attacking system, but Norah Anderson and Jackie O’Neil both played well in defense and midfielders Stella Regan, Chloe Barca, and Bridget Leo played well in the second half to try and get back into the match.

King Philip @ Milford – Postponed to TBD.

Stoughton, 0 @ Oliver Ames, 9 – Final – Camryn O’Connor proved too hard to stop, as her four goals powered the Tigers to a comfortable win. OA scored all nine goals before halftime. Lucinda Li Cotter, Katie Gibson, Mary Cross, Emma Gavin, and Taylor deVos also found the back of the net, as the Tigers put together and impressive opening 40 minutes to remain in first place in the Davenport. Sofia Issa made her first start for the Black Knights and played well alongside classmate Sivannah Marcy. Mia Rivera played well in the Stoughton goal, despite the score, and freshman Lauren Mitchell had another solid performance.

Field Hockey
King Philip, 0 @ Westwood, 4 – Final – Junior Haley Bright turned away eight shots but the Warriors fell for the first time this season, playing in their sixth game in the past two weeks. Seniors Christina Gifun and Margo Reilly played well in the midfield for KP.

Volleyball
North Attleboro, 0 @ King Philip, 3 – Final – King Philip earned another sweep, this time knocking off North Attleboro in a non-league clash, 3-0 (25-13, 25-3, 25-18). Junior middle Sami Shore had a strong all-around showing (six kills), but really shined at the service line with 21 service points and five aces. Emily Sawyer put down 8 kills and Ahunna James added seven kills in the win. Sofia Riedel had 13 service points, including two aces, and Stella Bailey recorded four aces.

Taunton, 3 @ Durfee, 0 – Final

Golf
King Philip, 150 @ Attleboro, 152 – Final – King Philip’s depth was on display as all four of the Warriors’ scorers came in under 40 to squeak out a victory over an upset-minded Attleboro squad. Pat Reardon had birdies on both 10 and 12, finishing with a team-low round of 36. Mike Matheson, Jared Curran, and Tim Hartwell all shot 38 to round out the scoring. Attleboro’s Brendan Raymond continued his stellar play with four birdies — on 10, 13, 14, and 17 — to finish with a match medalist round of 34. Dane Holske and Leo Lombardo each shot 39 and Carter Shelton came in with a 40.

Foxboro, 173 @ Franklin, 165 – Final – Sophomore Tyler O’Brien shared match medalist honors, shooting a team-low round of 39 to pace the Panthers to a win over Foxboro. Sophomore CJ Steel added a 41 in the win, freshman Ben Paterson came in with a 42, and sophomore Brendan Collins shot a 43 in the win. Foxboro’s Jack Rounds was the other co-medalist with a round of 39.

Instant Classic: Mansfield Knocks Off North In 2OT

Mansfield sophomore Trevor Foley (26) hauls in a touchdown pass in the first overtime against North Attleboro. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
ByRyanLanigan_2016FollowRyanLanigan_2016
 
 
 NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass. – It had been nearly seven years since Mansfield and North Attleboro last met on the gridiron, the longest drought in a rivalry that dates back a century.

It turned out to be worth the wait.

Mansfield football

The Hornets tied the game with under a minute to go and then scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion in both overtime periods to upend the Rocketeers, 31-29, in double overtime at Community Field.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

It marked the first time the rivals played one another in overtime.

“It was a special environment here at Community, one of the last old school places. I have such respect for their coaches, we knew they were going to be ready to play,” said Mansfield head coach Mike Redding. “I thought we just hung on in the second half. It wasn’t going our way, we couldn’t get much going. We did just enough.”

North Attleboro was close to putting the game out of reach with just over four minutes to play. Nathan Shultz sliced through the Mansfield defense to the tune of 65 yards to put the Rocketeers in prime position near the red zone. North got a first down but nothing more as Mansfield’s defense held, forcing the Big Red into a field goal attempt.

The Hornets got a second life when the 28-yard attempt went wide, but they had just 4:11 to play with no timeouts and 80 yards to gain.

Junior Conner Zukowski (18-for 29, 302 yards, four touchdowns) led the game-tying drive for the Hornets. After converting a third down early in the drive, the Hornets went on to march 80 yards on 10 plays, finished off when Zukowski floated one to sophomore Trevor Foley (7 catches, 113 yards, three touchdowns) in the corner of the end zone. Zukowski also hit Dana Johnson three times on the drive for 63 yards.










Foley hauled in the two-point conversion pass right at the goal line, was hit back, stayed on his feet, and then stretched out over the line to tie the game, 15-15, with 0:49 seconds to play.

“I felt like we really played young in the first half but in the second half we showed a lot of character, they really stepped up and played like veterans,” Redding said. “Every week I think we’ll make progress but we just have to learn to play for four quarters.”

Mansfield football

Mansfield started on offense for the first overtime and on the first play, Zukowski went right back to Foley, floating one to the back right corner and the 6’4 sophomore did the rest, out-leaping the defender to grab the score. Zukowski found Drew Sacco cutting across the middle for the two-point conversion and the Hornets jumped ahead 23-15.

North got the ball down to the 1-yard line on its first three plays and senior Tyler DeMattio — who made the switch from quarterback to running back this week — bulldozed his way in on fourth down to keep North alive. Freshman quarterback Chase Frisoli (6-for-9, 86 yards) fired a low bullet and Gavin Wells made a nice catch for the two-point conversion to knot it 23-23 and send it to double overtime.

The Rocketeers took their turn on offense first and despite a big push from the Hornet defensive line, DeMattio (19 carries, 65 yards) was able to bounce it outside and scamper into the end zone. A false start pushed North back five yards and the conversion pass was swatted away by Foley at the goal line.

Mansfield football

On Mansfield’s first play, Zukowski backpedaled before dumping off a screen pass to Rocco Scarpellini, who broke free of a pair of tackles to get into the end zone. On the two-point try, Zukowski lofted a pass to the back left of the end zone to Foley for the win.

“It was a great game, both teams played tough and it’s tough for any team to walk away from a game like this with a loss,” said North Attleboro head coach Don Johnson. “We’d rather but on the other side of it but I’m proud of our kids, especially after the disappointing loss last week. I thought our kids worked really hard to bounce back.

“We played better. We didn’t play good enough to win but we played better this week than we did last week so we’re happy about that. And with the new rating system, a two-point loss isn’t so bad anymore.”

Mansfield opened the game with a touchdown on the first drive. The Hornets went 3-for-3 on third down on the drive, moving the ball all the way down to the 2-yard line after Zukowski linked up with Foley for 26 yards. A high snap forced Mansfield into a 3rd and goal from the 24 but Zukowski found Foley in one-on-one coverage on the left side. James Gilleran’s point after put the visitors up 7-0 with 7:16 left in the first quarter.

North was forced to punt but DeMattio pinned the Hornets at their own 2-yard line. The ball came free on a handoff attempt and it was ruled DeMattio recovered in the end zone for a touchdown. A scramble on the point after attempt ended up intercepted and Mansfield held its advantage at 7-6 with 4:44 left in the first quarter.

“We had used him last year at back in the Century Game so it’s always been in the package but it gives us the ability to do some different things on offense, and it also lets us play him on defense,” Johnson said of moving DeMattio from quarterback to running back and linebacker. “We haven’t had the luxury to have him play both ways but he’s a senior now, sometimes you have to roll the dice and just get your best players on the field.”




Wells put an end to another Mansfield drive with an interception and the Rocketeers forced a punt on the next series. Tyler Bannon converted a third down with a 12-yard run, and Shultz followed suit with a 12-yard run on his own, followed by a late hit call to get the hosts inside the 10-yard line.

Two plays later, DeMattio ran it in from four yards out to put North Attleboro ahead. Caden Colby and Mark DeGirolamo combined to stuff the two-point rush attempt.

Mansfield football

Mansfield drove into North territory late in the first half, going 65 yards on eight plays but Danny Curran read the pass perfectly and stepped in front for an interception in the end zone to prevent any further damage, keeping a 15-7 lead at halftime.

The defenses were the stars for the majority of the second half. North was forced to punt after a three-and-out to start the second half, fumbled on its second possession, and had to punt again at the end of the third quarter after a big sack from Mansfield’s Aidan Devlin.

Meanwhile, Mansfield had a turnover on downs due to a fourth down sack from Tyler Bannon and had back-to-back punts. On its first three drives of the second half, Mansfield had a total of 62 yards before the final drive of 80 yards to tie the game.

“They didn’t play great against Feehan but we knew they were better than that,” Redding said of the Rocketeers. “They came out with a whole different look with DeMattio at running back and he runs really hard. The quarterback played well for a freshman, they were much better tonight than they were on film. They had us on our heels with their blitzing, with DeMattio coming, with Bannon coming off the edge — he’s a big, fast kid. We’re fortunate Zuk stepped up and had a heck of a night throwing the football, that was the difference.”

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

Mansfield football

It marked Mansfield’s first win over North since 2013, although the team’s hadn’t played since 2014. It was the first overtime game in the rivalry; games previous ended in a tie at the conclusion of four quarters but that rule was changed about a decade ago.

“That was a classic, just about as good as high school football gets,” Redding said. “I’m glad the rivalry is back and we’ll see them at Alumni next year but maybe we’ll go up to Memorial [Park] and keep playing on the old-school fields.”

Mansfield football (2-0) will have its first home game of the season next week when it welcomes another member of the Hockomock League’s Davenport division in Stoughton. North Attleboro (0-2) hits the road for the first time to take on another Kelley-Rex division foe in King Philip.

Friday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 09/17/21

Today’s games are listed below.

Football
Attleboro, 0 @ Bishop Feehan, 34 – Final – Click here for a Photo Gallery from this game.

Canton, 10 vs. Norton, 19 – Final

Foxboro, 38 @ Whitman-Hanson, 0 – Final

Franklin, 37 @ Brockton, 7 – Final
1st Quarter: (F) Mack Gulla 2-yard rush, Garrett Portesi XP good; (B) Jason Wonodi 10-yard pass to Cameron Monteiro, XP good.
2nd Quarter: (F) Safety; (F) Jared Arone 7-yard pass to Will Deschenes, G. Portesi XP good; (F) J. Arone 27-yard pass to Shane Kindred, G. Portesi XP good.
3rd Quarter: (F) M. Gulla 77-yard rush, G. Portesi XP good.
4th Quarter: (F) Mike Davide, G. Portesi XP good.

King Philip, 30 @ Needham, 6 – Final

Mansfield, 31 @ North Attleboro, 29 – Final (2 OT) – Click here for a recap and photo gallery of this game.
1st Quarter: (M) Conner Zukowski 24-yard pass to Trevor Foley, James Gilleran XP good; (NA) Tyler DeMattio fumble recovery, XP no good.
2nd Quarter: (NA) T. DeMattio 4-yard rush, Conversion no good; (NA) T. DeMattio 18-yard field goal.
3rd Quarter: No scoring.
4th Quarter: (M) C. Zukowski 4-yard pass to T. Foley, C. Zukowski conversion pass to T. Foley.
1st OT: (M) C. Zukowski 10-yard pass to T. Foley, C. Zukowski conversion pass to Drew Sacco; (NA) T. DeMattio 1-yard rush, Chase Frisoli conversion pass to Gavin Wells.
2nd OT: (NA) T. DeMattio 10-yard rush, Conversion no good; (M) C. Zukowski 10-yard pass to Rocco Scarpellini, C. Zukowski conversion pass to T. Foley.

Oliver Ames, 13 @ Quincy, 21 – Final

Stoughton, 27 vs. Braintree, 26 – Final

Taunton, 26 @ Durfee, 20 – Final
1st Quarter: No scoring.
2nd Quarter: (D) Jevon Holley 61-yard rush, XP good.
3rd Quarter: (T) Jacob Leonard 54-yard pass to Trent Santos, Nathan Keenan XP good; (T) J. Leonard 8-yard pass to Jose Touron, 2pt rush failed; (T) Evan Perrotta 6-yard rush, N. Keenan XP good; (D) Isaiyah Thomas 43-yard rush, XP good.
4th Quarter: (D) I. Thomas 14-yard pass to Jayden Lewis, XP failed; (T) J. Leonard 3-yard pass to T. Santos, XP failed.

Sharon, 0 @ Seekonk, 28 – Final










Boys Soccer
Canton, 0 @ Milford, 2 – Final – Milford scored once in each half to down the Bulldogs for their first victory of the season. Arthur Tome put the hosts ahead, converting a pass from David Desa to make it 1-0. In the second half, junior Nick Ribeiro iced the game with a goal with just over two minutes to go.

Foxboro, 2 vs. Norton, 1 – Final – Foxboro senior Matt Angelini set up a goal in each half to help the Warriors claim a win against non-league foe Norton. Angelini blasted a low shot from atop the area that was saved, pushed off the post and out but junior Alex Penders was first to the loose ball and touched it in for a 1-0 lead in the 36th minute. Just after halftime, Angelini intercepted a pass in the attacking third and laid off a pass for Jacob Tessier, who beat the keeper from distance to make it 2-0 in the 48th minute.

Oliver Ames, 1 @ Franklin, 2 – Final – Franklin scored back-to-back goals in a short span to earn a win over Oliver Ames, the first victory of the young season for the Panthers. Terry O’Neill was first to a loose ball in the box, pouncing on it to make it 1-0, and shortly after, Tyler Powderly found the back of the net. OA cut the deficit in half on a goal from senior Michael Haikal off an assist from Clide Neau.

King Philip, 0 @ North Attleboro, 1 – Final – Carson Dameron scored the only goal of the game to lift North to the win. The sophomore pressured the KP center back, stole the ball, and scored on the break for his first career goal. Givany Carney also played well up top for North, keeping the KP defense on its toes. Brody Rosenberg and Joe Shephard played well on defense to help the Rocketeers keep a clean sheet.




Girls Soccer
Franklin, 2 @ Oliver Ames, 2 – Final – Click here for a recap and photo gallery of this game.

North Attleboro, 1 @ Braintree, 0 – Final – North closed out a three-game week with a hard-fought non-league road win. Steph McKenna scored the lone goal of the game early in the second half. She took a pass from Autumn Hewitt and found the back of the net from 15 yards out. Haley Sinacola also came close when she hit a 35-yard free kick off the bar. Maddie Ferrin recorded her second clean sheet of the week and North’s defense of Lily Adams, Charlotte Moynihan, Caroline Ferrin, and Summer Doherty all played well.

Stoughton, 1 vs. Norwood, 2 – Final – Morgan Cook scored off an Isabella Rodrigues assist for Stoughton’s lone goal of the game. Emma Tran also played well in multiple positions for the Black Knights, who were missing a few players for the non-league game.

King Philip, 1 vs. Bishop Feehan, 6 – Final

Sharon, 3 vs. Milton, 3 – Final – Amanda Hu scored a late equalizer to earn a point for the Eagles, who twice came from a goal down in the draw. Olivia Soby opened the scoring for Sharon. After Milton scored twice to take the lead, Wendy Wooden leveled the scores. The Wildcats regained the lead but Hu fired in a shot from distance to tie it up in the closing minutes. Sofia Goclowski had a pair of assists.

Field Hockey
Milford, 0 @ Canton, 4 – Final – Ellie Bohane scored twice to lift Canton to the victory. Erin Lane and Maggie McCready each scored once for the Bulldogs.

Franklin, 5 @ Oliver Ames, 0 – Final – Franklin built a three-goal advantage by halftime and tacked on one more in each of the third and fourth quarters to secure a win on the road over OA. Kaitlyn Carney scored a pair of goals while Shaw Downing, Payten Crandall, and Haley Wernig also scored, which was the first varsity goal for Wernig. Wernig and Crandall also had assists while Megan Sullivan had five saves for the shutout.

North Attleboro, 0 @ King Philip, 4 – Final – KP’s defense was dominant throughout, allowing only one shot on goal. Seniors Lily Brown and Molly Piller stood out for the Warriors on the defensive end of the field. Mara Boldy got the winner, scoring in the second quarter off an assist from Makenzie McDevitt. Boldy then added an assist, setting up Margo Reilly. Kelly Holmes added a third, assisted by Christina Gifun, and freshman Abby MacDonald closed out the scoring with her first career goal. Boldy added her second assist of the game on KP’s fourth.

Stoughton, 5 vs. Brockton, 0 – Final – Zofia Bangs scored a hat trick to power the Black Knights to their first win of the season. Mia Allie and Isabella Iacobucci also scored once apiece.




Volleyball
Milford, 1 @ Canton, 3 – Final – Canton bounced back from a tough second set and got its first win of the season, 25-22, 12-25, 25-16, 25-17. Taylor Reynolds ran the offense for the Bulldogs, dishing out 27 assists, while also chipping in with four aces and nine digs. Anna Verille had a big game defensively, recording 17 digs and also had four aces. Jess Wright sparked the attack with 14 kills (and added seven digs), while Sydney Gallery had a solid all-around game on the outside with eight kills and five digs.

Franklin, 3 @ Oliver Ames, 1 – Final – OA won a close first set, 27-25, but then Franklin rolled over the next three sets (25-12, 25-13, 25-12) to pull out the win and stay perfect on the season. Cailyn Mackintosh dished out 21 assists and added eight kills. She also chipped in with four aces and 27 digs. Taylor Lacerda also had eight kills for the Panther and Brigid Earley had four kills and seven blocks. Addyson Smock had a pair of blocks for the Tigers and gave them an aggressive presence at the net. Hadley Rhodes led OA with 20 assists and five kills and Maddie Homer was strong in serve-receive and on defense with 27 digs and 32 receptions.

King Philip, 3 vs. Walpole, 0 – Final – King Philip continued its strong start to the season with a 3-0 sweep (25-13, 25-8, 25-10) at home over non-league foe Walpole. It was a strong all-around effort from the hosts with Sami Shore (10 kills, two aces), Liz Carey (four kills, 10 service points), and Emily Sawyer (five kills) pacing the offense. Stella Bailey (five aces, 17 service points) and Kiera Hagen (five aces) both performed well at the service line while Samantha Asprelli (six digs) was strong defensively.

Taunton @ Sharon, 5:15

Golf
Mansfield, 168 @ Franklin, 166 – Final – Franklin defended its home course to hand Mansfield its first loss of the season. Sophomore CJ Steel show the low round of the afternoon, carding a 38. That was one stroke better than Mansfield’s Cian Goulet. Caden Sullivan added a round of 42 and Ben Paterson and Caroline Woelfel each shot 43s for the Panthers. Cody Nieratko shot a 40 for the Hornets, who also got a round of 43 from Jordan Tavares and a 46 from Brendan Vokey.

Canton, 145 @ Oliver Ames, 152 – Final – Canton pulled out a win in the battle of unbeaten division rivals. Mike Leonetti was the medalist at Pine Oaks, shooting a 2-under round of 32. Will Gefteas had the second lowest round of the day, finishing with a 35. Conor Hunter added a 38 and Mekhala Costello and Charlie Cohen both shot a 40. OA was led by David Rodgers with a round of 37. Lucas Riley and Jake Kaplan both shot 38s and Carter Allbritton added a 39.

Friday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 09/10/21

Today’s games are listed below.

Football
Attleboro, 10 vs. Durfee, 7 – Final
1st Quarter: (A) Blake Garzaro 10-yard pass to Chris Mota, Anthony Salviati XP good.
2nd Quarter: No scoring.
3rd Quarter: No scoring.
4th Quarter: (D) Durfee 9-yard rush, XP good; (A) A. Salviati 30-yard field goal.

Canton, 7 @ Dighton-Rehoboth, 15 – Final (OT)
1st Quarter: No scoring.
2nd Quarter: No scoring.
3rd Quarter: (C) Bahsor Mahn 7-yard rush, Hayden Rose XP good.
4th Quarter: (DR) Hendrix Pray 40-yard rush, Adam Pereira XP good.
Overtime: (DR) H. Pray 10-yard rush, Jacob Suprenard 2pt rush.

Foxboro, 28 @ Milford, 49 – Final – Click here for a Recap and Photo Gallery from this game.
1st Quarter: (M) Matt Girard 80-yard pass to Isaiah Pantalone, Nicholas Araujo XP good; (F) Tom Marcucella 10-yard pass to Tre Stith, Sam Carpenter XP good; (M) Evan Cornelius 74-yard pass to I. Pantalone, XP no good.
2nd Quarter: (M) Tyler Lane 1-yard rush, E. Cornelius 2-point conversion rush; (F) T. Marcucella 76-yard pass to Dylan Gordon, S. Carpenter XP good; (M) E. Cornelius 1-yard rush, N. Araujo XP good.
3rd Quarter: (F) T. Marcucella 18-yard pass to Tommy Sharkey, S. Carpenter XP good; (M) T. Lane 4-yard rush, N. Araujo XP good.
4th Quarter: (M) E. Cornelius 1-yard rush, N. Araujo XP good; (M) E. Cornelius 66-yard pass to I. Pantalone, N. Araujo XP good; (F) T. Marcucella 10-yard pass to D. Gordon, S. Carpenter XP good.

Franklin, 37 vs. Wachusett, 21 – Final

Mansfield, 28 @ St. John’s Shrewsbury, 20 – Final
1st Quarter: (SJ) Ryan Miller 54-yard pass to Ryan Coonan, XP blocked.
2nd Quarter: (M) Rocco Scarpellini 6-yard rush, XP good; (M) Drew Sacco 9-yard rush, XP good.
3rd Quarter: (SJ) Bobby Rodolakis 34-yard rush, XP failed; (SJ) B. Rodolakis 5-yard rush, R. Miller 2pt pass to R. Coonan.
4th Quarter: (M) Conner Zukowski 10-yard pass to Trevor Foley, XP good; (M) C. Zukowski 5-yard pass to T. Foley, XP good.

North Attleboro, 10 vs. Bishop Feehan, 24 – Final

Oliver Ames, 18 vs. Brookline, 8 – Final
1st Quarter: (OA) Chad Silva 6-yard rush, XP failed.
2nd Quarter: (OA) C. Silva 4-yard rush, XP failed; (OA) Collin Williamson 11-yard rush, XP failed.
3rd Quarter: No scoring.
4th Quarter: Brookline touchdown, 2pt conversion good.

Stoughton, 14 vs. Norwood, 21 – Final

Taunton, 21 vs. New Bedford, 0 – Final – Click here for a Recap and Photo Gallery from this game.
1st Quarter: No scoring.
2nd Quarter: (T) Jacob Leonard 22-yard pass to Trent Santos, Nathan Keenan XP good; (T) Bryan Batista 21-yard rush, N. Keenan XP good.
3rd Quarter: No scoring.
4th Quarter: (T) B. Batista 12-yard rush, N. Keenan XP good.

Sharon, 0 @ Norton, 15 – First Quarter – Due to a power outage of the lights, the game will continue on Saturday morning at 10:00AM.










Boys Soccer
Franklin, 0 @ Canton, 2 – Final – Canton’s Jake McCabe scored for the second straight game and Jacob Crugnale also found the back of the net as the Bulldogs opened their Hockomock schedule with a win over visiting Franklin.

Foxboro, 0 @ Milton, 2 – Final

Milford, 0 @ Sharon, 1 – Final

Girls Soccer
Oliver Ames, 5 @ Attleboro, 1 – Final – OA rallied from a goal down with five straight scores to open its season with a road win. Jamie Davies had put Attleboro ahead in the ninth minute, off a Kacey Parker assist, but not two minutes later the Tigers equalized on a long-range strike by freshman Emma Gavin. Camryn O’Connor put OA ahead for good and then Kyla Melton scored either side of halftime to put the game out of reach. Alex Lane added the fifth with 15 minutes left to play. Attleboro coach Steve Santos praised his central defenders Olivia Calderone and Emma Stromfors but admitted that the Tigers just had too much on Friday.

Foxboro, 5 vs. Walpole, 2 – Final – After being shut out on Thursday, the Warriors found their offense on Friday to earn a non-league win. Kailee McCabe was the star, as the All-New England selection scored three times and assisted on another. Erin Foley and freshman Neve Taylor also got on the board for Foxboro. Foxboro coach Katie Stalcup also praised the Warriors defense for fighting hard the whole game to keep out the Timberwolves.

Sharon @ Milford – Postponed to TBD.




Field Hockey
Oliver Ames, 1 @ Attleboro, 3 – Final – Attleboro defended its home turf with a win over the defending Davenport division champions Oliver Ames. Sarah McMahon and Madison Ellis each had a goal and an assist to pace the Bombardier offense. Alyvia Bessette opened the scoring for Attleboro followed by Ellis (unassisted) and McMahon (from Ellis and Olivia Hillman).

Canton, 1 @ Franklin, 5 – Final – Franklin opened the second in style, pumping in a pair of goals in both the second and third quarters, to knock off visiting Canton. Kendall Jones (from Kaitlyn Carney) opened the scoring but Canton’s Erin Lane tied the game just two minutes later. Franklin pulled ahead in the second and never looked back; Carney (unassisted) and Jones (from Shaw Downing) scored three minutes apart to give the Panthers a 3-1 lead at the half. In the third, Downing (unassisted) scored less than a minute in and Payton Crandall (from Carney) notched her first career goal to cap the scoring. Megan Sullivan made six saves to earn the win in net.

Foxboro, 0 @ King Philip, 2 – Final – Click here for a Recap and Photo Gallery from this game.

North Attleboro, 2 @ Mansfield, 2 – Final – North Attleboro sophomore goalie Gracie Leary made two huge saves inside the final three minutes to help preserve a point for the Rocketeers on the road at Mansfield. Leary totaled nine saves, including her final one with just over a minute to go to get the point. Junior Julia Puccio scored on a corner in the first quarter on a pass from Zoe McKeon. Mansfield got goals from Rose Maher and Dani Cuzzi to take the lead but North’s Caroline Folan scored on a corner with 3:25 to play to level the scoring.

Sharon, 0 @ Milford, 1 – Final – Click here for a Photo Gallery from this game. McKenna Smith was able to squeeze the ball through a scrum in front of goal and across the line midway through the fourth quarter for the game’s lone goal.

Stoughton, 0 @ Taunton, 3 – Final – Taunton opened the new season at home with a shutout win over the visiting Black Knights. Emily Gannon turned away six shots to get the shutout win in net. Ashley Amaro and Kaysie DeMoura both grabbed a goal and an assist in the win while Caelen O’Leary had the first goal of the game. Thalia Nogueria, Kylie Thorpe, and Braeley MacDonald also played well for the Tigers.




Volleyball
Oliver Ames, 1 @ Attleboro, 3 – Final – Attleboro won a close first set and went on to take a 3-1 (25-22, 25-19, 21-25, 25-16) win over visiting Oliver Ames. For OA, senior Hadley Rhodes had 15 assists and six kills, Maddie Homer had 24 digs and 22 serve receptions and sophomore Sarah Hilliard tallied 10 kills.

Foxboro, 0 @ King Philip, 3 – Final – King Philip opened its season in style with a 3-0 sweep (25-9, 25-12, 25-3) over visiting Foxboro. Ahunna James paced the offense with seven kills, Sami Shore added six kills and four aces, Sofia Reidel had was strong at the service line with seven aces and Emily Sawyer put down five kills in her debut.

Canton, 0 @ Franklin, 3 – Final – Franklin fended off a big challenge from Canton in the final set to secure a 3-0 sweep (25-14, 25-16, 25-23) over the Bulldogs. Cailyn Mackintosh had 20 assists, Lindsey Tarantola recorded seven kills and Cate Roberge had a big game for the Panthers with seven aces and five kills. Sophomore Jess Wright notched 11 kills in her varsity debut for the Bulldogs while freshman Zoe Scibelli played well defensively at libero in her first match. Senior Anna Verille had a great game defensively with 16 digs to go along with four kills and an ace while Taylor Reynolds dished out 21 assists.

North Attleboro @ Mansfield, 5:15

Sharon, 0 @ Milford, 3 – Final

Stoughton, 0 @ Taunton, 3 – Final – Taunton grabbed its second win on the young season, this time with a 3-0 sweep (25-8, 25-20, 25-23) win over Stoughton. Mikayla Cleary led the charge with 11 kills, seven aces, and three blocks, Hayley Krockta had five kills, and Angie Lynch had a strong game at the net with three kills and two aces. Danielle Lofgren (six digs), Mia Fernandes, and Jess Foley all set the tone for the Tigers with a strong serve receive.

Golf
Canton, 145 @ North Attleboro, 160 – Final – For the second straight match, all of Canton’s scorers broke the 40 mark, this time to get a key division win at Heather Hills. Canton’s Conor Hunter and Mike Leonetti as well as North Attleboro’s Jake Gaskin all shared medalist honors at 35. Will Gefteas added a 36 for the Dogs while Mekhala Costello and Nate MacDonald each came in with a round of 39 for Canton. Tyson Laviano added a round of 36 for the Big Red.

Sharon, 158 @ Oliver Ames, 155 – Final – Oliver Ames made it three straight wins to start the season, knocking off visiting Sharon at Pine Oaks by three strokes. Jo Jo Gaultier had the low-round for the Tigers at 36 while David Rodgers added a 37 and both Braden Shapiro and Daniel Paul shot a 41. Sharon’s Nate Daly was the match medalist at 35 while Eric Carter chipped in with a 37.

King Philip, 166 @ Franklin, 171 – Final – King Philip emerged from a key division showdown with Franklin with a close win at Franklin Country Club. Pat Reardon was the match medalist, firing a three-over round of 38 while Mike Matheson chipped in with a 42 for the Warriors. For Franklin, Corey Steel shot a 39 while Tyler O’Brien sank a birdie on the seventh hole to help finish with a round of 42.

Cross-Country
Canton @ Nauset, 4:30