Taunton football comes back vs. Attleboro for first Hockomock Kelley-Rex win
ATTLEBORO— Division 1 No. 7 Taunton came into Tozier-Cassidy Field Friday night needing a win to guarantee a home playoff game, and that's exactly what they did.
The Tigers (5-3, 1-3 Hockomock Kelley-Rex) defeated Division 1 No. 9 Attleboro (4-4, 0-4 Hockomock Kelley-Rex) 28 in a back-and-forth contest Friday night for their first league win of the season while all but ensuring that they will be hosting a playoff game at Aleixo "Tiger" Stadium next week.
"I’m proud of our kids," Taunton coach Brad Sidwell said. "We ran the ball, they played hard, they played tough, those guys (Attleboro) are tough."
After a strong second quarter saw the Tigers go up 13-0 on the Blue Bombardiers, the hosts returned with a vengeance in the third quarter, scoring on their first two drives of the second half to go up 14-13 before Taunton scored on their first two drives of the fourth quarter to seal the deal.
Senior running back Malachi Johnson led the way for the Tigers with 24 carries for 219 yards and a pair of touchdowns while also hauling in a pair of catches for 22 yards. Senior quarterback Jacob Leonard went 11-of-18 for 94 yards and a touchdown as well as three carries for 52 yards, including a touchdown and a two-point conversion, while junior wide receiver Jose Touron had five catches for 43 yards and an interception on defense.
"Every play was close to being broken into a big one and he runs hard," Sidwell said of Johnson.
On the defensive side, junior linebacker Ethan Harris and sophomore linebacker Elijah Prophete also had picks.
"They’ve improved dramatically over the season," Sidwell said of the defense. "The rest of the way we’ll be playing really good offensive teams so hopefully we can keep doing that."
The two sides went back-and-forth in the first quarter but both defense shut down their opposing offense in the end. A Harris interception set up a long Taunton drive that carried into the second quarter where they made it all the way to the Attleboro 16 before having to settle for a field goal attempt, but senior kicker Sete Deletoille's attempt from 33 yards out hit the left goalpost and bounced out, leaving the game scoreless.
After a three-and-out by the Bombardiers on the next drive, the Tigers were luckier on their next drive as Johnson broke through up the middle and turned on the jets as he ran in a touchdown from 44 yards out, with the resulting PAT by Deletoille giving Taunton a 7-0 lead with 9:05 left in the half.
Attleboro recovered a fumbled punt to the Tigers, but turned the ball back over again shortly after as junior quarterback Matt Harvie was picked off by Prophete on the Taunton 21. The Tigers capitalized on the opportunity given before the end of the half as they capped off the drive as Leonard found Touron in the end zone from 13 yards out for the touchdown to put Taunton up 13-0 with 0:29 left in the half, with the score staying that way heading into the break as Deletoille missed the resulting PAT.
The Tigers received the ball to start the third quarter, but were forced into a turnover on downs that the Bombardiers capitalized on as a 25 yard pass by Harvie to junior wide receiver Malachi Jefferson set up senior running back Ethan Lako to punch in the ball from the one yard line to make it 13-6. Attleboro decided to go for two and got it as Harvie found senior wide receiver Ayden Ramirez in the back right corner of the end zone to make it 13-8 with 3:27 left in the third quarter.
After a three-and-out for Taunton, the Bombardiers scored just two plays into their next drive as Harvie found Ramirez for a 48 yard touchdown to go up 14-13 with 1:15 left in the third quarter. Attleboro tried to go for two but saw junior running back Adrian Rivera stuffed at the goal line by senior linebacker Tanner Brannon to keep the game within a point.
The Tigers got another drive going but were suddenly stopped shortly into the fourth quarter as Lako forced a fumble by Johnson which was jumped on and recovered by senior lineman Jack Fitzgerald, though the Bombardiers were unable to capitalize on the opportunity.
"We didn’t play clean at all," Sidwell said of Taunton third quarter and early fourth quarter performance. "We fumbled a punt, let them get some momentum. We knew if we could get the first drive of the second half we’d get a good run and we didn’t get a first down there and then they get some momentum and then they pop a run on us and then we kind of were out of sync on the next drive and they throw one over our heads, I’m not sure why our safety was not deep back there."
After Attleboro went three-and-out on the resulting drive, the Tigers began driving down field and thought they had the lead as Johnson had another breakthrough run into the end zone, this time from 50 yards out, but a holding call against Taunton brought him back. Three plays later, Johnson did find the end zone as he headed down the sideline from 36 yards out to give the Tigers the 21-14 lead after Taunton went for two and Leonard took it in himself for two with 7:19 left.
"I do think we might’ve gotten a push in the back, but he had the first down and next thing you know he was shooting through," Sidwell said. "Having a 14 point win against a league opponent is important (for the power rankings)."
The Tigers secured their lead on the next drive as on a fourth and inches, Leonard took the ball himself and broke through a strong Bombardier defensive line to run in a touchdown from 39 yards out, with the resulting PAT by Deletoille making it 28-14 with 3:08 left to play and the Taunton defense was able to finish the job and wind down the clock to seal the win.
With the victory, the Tigers wrapped up their pre-tournament schedule with a 5-3 record and will now await until Monday to find out who they'll be hosting in the first round next week, with a possible rematch with Attleboro on the table.
For Sidwell, he was proud of his team for reaching a goal they set out from day one of camp back in August.
"In the summer, one of the goals we set was to be able to host a home playoff game," Sidwell said. "That hasn’t happened in Taunton in a long time and we’re going to be excited about doing that. We’ll enjoy this tonight but (then) get (back) to work. We’re excited."
Why was the game at 7:30 instead of 7?
Unlike most Taunton, as well as Attleboro, football games, Friday night's affair was held at 7:30 p.m. rather than 7 p.m., but it was for a special reason for Sidwell as the athletic departments of Taunton, Attleboro, Milford and Franklin all worked together to arrange their start times so the Taunton coach could be able to participate in his son's, Franklin senior Luke Sidwell, Senior Night activities in Franklin, with the Panthers and Scarlet Hawks, who won the game 43-24, kicking off at 6 p.m.
"I do need to say a special thank you to Attleboro, Milford, Franklin and Taunton for letting me go see my kids senior night," Sidwell said. "That’s special to me and I am very happy to be in the Hockomock League because of that."
Taunton Daily Gazette sports reporter Cameron Merritt can be reached at cmerritt@tauntongazette.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @CamMerritt_News. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to the Taunton Daily Gazette today.
This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton football earns comeback win over Attleboro
