Taunton football falls to late Milford rally in back-and-forth Thanksgiving showdown

TAUNTON— Though only in its second year, the annual Thanksgiving Day game between Taunton and Milford has already proven to be a hotly-contested competition.

The Tigers (6-5) and Scarlet Hawks (10-2) went blow-for-blow for much of the first half before Milford added a third quarter field goal and a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to earn the 38-28 win and improve to 2-0 over the Tigers on Turkey Day in the first game played at Aleixo on the holiday since the final edition of "The Game" with Coyle-Cassidy in 2018.

"We came out like fire and we made a couple of great plays there in the first half, then in the second half we couldn’t sustain it," Taunton coach Brad Sidwell said. "I thought our kids played hard. We’ve got to find a way there to punch it in when we get close both times there at the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth quarter."

"Both teams put on a heck of a show out there," Scarlet Hawks coach Dale Olson said. "It was an instant classic. I think our kids once they listened to us, they covered the pass a little better in the second half, but I couldn’t be more proud of our group."

With the win, Milford earned a share of the Hockomock Kelley-Rex title with Franklin, who narrowly beat King Philip 29-28, for their first title since joining the Hockomock in 2012.

"We’re sharing the Hock title for the first time in school history and that’s a huge accomplishment in our league," Dale Olson said. "(For the past decade) the program has never even sniffed it, so to get to 10 wins this year and back-to-back sectional finals, and then to share a win of the Hockomock title, it’s outstanding."

For the Tigers, senior quarterback Jacob Leonard went 13-of-20 for 213 yards, three touchdowns and a pair of interceptions while junior wide receiver Jose Touron had seven catches for 148 yards and a pair of touchdowns, senior running back Malachi Johnson had 14 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown and junior wide receiver Dmitrius Shearrion had one catch for 43 yards and a touchdown as well as an interception on defense. Senior kicker Sete Deletoille went a perfect four-for-four on extra points.

"I thought we had a lot of good, deep throws (in the first half), some of our receivers were explosive with the ball and in the second half we couldn’t get it to them, so we’ve just got to find a way," Sidwell said. "We knew their offense is pretty strong so we’ve got to score more points than they do."

Johnson earned the Offensive Player of the Game award for Taunton as he reached 1,000 rushing yard milestone on the season and finishes his Tiger football career with 1,020.

"“It means a lot to me," Johnson said. "This is only my second year playing running back and without the front line I couldn’t do it. I love them boys and I’m going to keep working, hopefully I can go D1 in college."

For the senior, who transferred in from Brockton, it didn't take long for him to truly feel a part of the Taunton football family.

"At first I didn’t really know if I was going to fit in or not, but these boys made me feel like I was a part of the brotherhood and I’m proud of these boys and I love them to the end," Johnson said.

"He’s a good, tough little runner and our linemen blocked great," Sidwell said. "He’s a good player and we’re going to miss him for sure."

On the defensive side, senior linebackers Ryan MacDougall and Logan Frank, as well as junior linebacker Ethan Harris, all had four tackles, with Harris having two for a loss.

"They played hard," Sidwell said. "They were big and physical and they came out with the mindset that they were going to run the ball more than they have and I thought our defense played okay. We just had to stop one big play there at the end. The big play at the beginning of the game and the big play at the end, that happens every once in a while but I thought we fought hard and made them move the ball most of the time."

MacDougall received the Defensive Player of the Game award for the Tigers in his final football game and while the reigning 2022 Taunton Daily Gazette Baseball Player of the Year and University of Dayton Baseball commit may be known more for his prowess on the diamond, he proved a crucial part of Taunton's line during his time and will never forget his Friday nights under the lights at Aleixo.

"These are my guys," MacDougall said. "A bunch of seniors, a senior-driven team and all of friends, I’ll remember this team forever. All of the coaches (too), I’ll remember them forever."

On the Milford side of things, senior quarterback Evan Cornelius went six-of-13 for 155 yards, three touchdowns and an interception while sophomore wide receiver Andrew Rivera had two catches for 76 yards and a receiving touchdown as well as eight carries for 51 yards and a rushing touchdown and a sack on defense, senior wide receiver Isaiah Pantalone had three catches for 66 yards and a pair of touchdowns, senior running back Romeo Holland had 24 carries for 178 yards and a touchdown and junior kicker Nick Araujo went a perfect five-for-five on extra points and hit a 42 yard field goal while also having five carries for 24 yards.

Defensively, junior lineman Keith Lee had a sack while freshman defensive back CJ Farrell and junior defensive back Aidan Watson recorded a pick each.

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The Scarlet Hawks got things rolling early as on just the second offensive play of the game, Holland broke through the Taunton line and ran the ball in from 70 yards out to put the visitors on top 7-0 with 11:15 left in the first quarter after the extra point from Araujo.

Not to be outdone, the Tigers began driving down field when Shearrion broke through the secondary and Leonard found him wide open just outside of the end zone for a 43 yard touchdown to bring the two sides even at 7-7 with 8:10 left in the first quarter following the extra point by Deletoille.

On their next drive, Milford alternated carries between Holland, Rivera and Araujo before Cornelius found Pantalone in the far corner of the end zone from 27 yards out to put the Scarlet Hawks back on top 14-7 with 4:26 left following the extra point.

Just three plays later, Taunton found the end zone again as Leonard found Touron deep down field for a 50 yard touchdown pass to bring the hosts back even at 14-14 after the extra point with 2:48 left in the opening quarter.

The Tigers were able to break the back-and-forth scoring on the next Scarlet Hawk drive as Shearrion picked off Cornelius near the Milford 40 and thought he had the pick six touchdown but was ruled out of bounds at the six yard line, from where Johnson punched it in to give the hosts the 21-14 lead over the Division 2 semifinalists with 0:42 left in the first quarter after Deletoille split the uprights again for the extra point.

The Scarlet Hawks struck back on the first drive of the second quarter, driving down field on the back of their running backs before Rivera punched it from four out, bringing the visitors even with the hosts at 21-21 following the extra point with 8:30 left in the half.

With time ticking down in the half, Leonard threw a deep pass to Touron who hauled in the catch under quadruple coverage for a 53 yard touchdown reception to give Taunton the 28-21 lead after the extra point with 0:20 left in the half and carried the lead into the break.

Taunton wasn't able to respond with their next drive as Milford forced them to punt, and the Tigers were able to return the favor on the next drive by the Scarlet Hawks.

The Tigers received the ball to start the second half but Milford was able to force a three-and-out to keep the game within a score and closed the gap to four points with 7:35 left in the third quarter as Araujo hit a 42 yard field goal to make it 28-24.

From there, Taunton embarked on a long drive, during which Johnson surpassed the 1,000 rushing yard milestone on a seven yard carry, and found themselves in the red zone again where Leonard sent a pass towards Touron in the end zone that was picked off by Farrell, denying the Tigers a potential put away touchdown and putting the momentum back in Milford's hands.

"It was huge," Olson said of the pick. "He’s a freshman and he’s been starting for us all year. He’s got a bright future here at Milford, he’s a multi sport athlete and he finally made a (big) play."

"I knew they were throwing a goal line fade and that I was able to go step-for-step with the receiver," Farrell said. "We knew that it was time to make a play to get us back in the game."

For Taunton, it prevented Taunton from extending their lead at a point where they absolutely needed to.

"We were also thinking about kicking a field goal so that was big to lose possession on that drive," Sidwell said. "Maybe we could have gotten three points there to make it a seven point game, but it didn’t matter (in the end)."

The Scarlet Hawks took advantage of the opportunity given to them by Farrell as 13 plays later, Cornelius sent a screen pass to Pantalone in the backfield and the senior receiver was able to zig zag his way through the Tiger linebackers and run into the end zone from 30 yards out to put the visitors back on top 31-28 following the extra point with 8:34 left to play.

The Tigers tried to strike back but couldn't as Leonard's pass to senior wide receiver Braden Mullen on a fourth and 11 from the Milford 37 fell just short for a turnover on downs and two plays later, Cornelius found Rivera wide open up the middle for a 63 yard touchdown, making it 38-28 with 4:14 left to play.

Taunton tried again to claw their way back into the game in the closing minutes but on a deep pass attempt but Watson leaped up and made a one-handed catch for the interception and from there the Scarlet Hawks were able to run down the clock and seal the win.

"We told our kids at halftime we’ve just got to make a couple plays in the second half against their pass game and the fourth down play when they went for it, it was our defensive end who got his hand up and knocked the ball down," Olson said. "Their kid was wide open but our kid batted it down. The kids stepped up in the second half and made plays when we needed and that was the difference in the game today."

For Olson, finishing the season with 10 wins and a share of the league title marks another step in the right direction for Milford football.

"“It was a fantastic season," Olson said. "We’re working our way up and this was my third year here and our 24th win in the three years I’ve been here and we’re working our way towards Gillette and that’s our goal: to win a Hockomock League title and get this program to Gillette."

As for the Tigers, who finish the season 6-5, a win improvement over their 5-6 finish in 2021, Sidwell also said it marked a move in the right direction for the program, but there's still work to be done.

"We’ve definitely made a jump to being better, but we’ve got to make even more of a jump by finding out how to win games like this," Sidwell said. "All of the close games we’ve battled (and lost), we’ve got to find ways to do that better."

With 25 seniors, several of which were three year starters, the Tigers will certainly look a bit different come next fall, and Sidwell said he'll be forever grateful for the impact the Class of 2023 had on the program.

"They’re great kids," Sidwell said. "They’ve worked hard and they’ve taken us to a better place. They’ve left the program in a better shape than it was with everything they do."

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 falls short of Milford in annual Thanksgiving showdown