TAUNTON — A late field goal by senior Nick Torres lifted North Attleboro to a thrilling 17-14 Hockomock League victory over Taunton.
The Red Rocketeers were looking to bounce back after a tough loss against King Phillip, but the opponent was strong. The Tigers came in with a 2-0 record and had allowed just 14 points in their first two games against New Bedford and Durfee.
It was a playoff atmosphere at Alexio Stadium at Taunton High School, and the teams played to a scoreless first half. The Red Rocketeers were able to stop the Tigers from scoring early in the game by a fumble recovery by captain Nathan Rivera, and also secured a last-second interception by Frankie Strachan on a Hail Mary attempt by Tigers QB Dylan Keenan.
The second half was a different beast as both quarterbacks traded rushing touchdowns in the third quarter. Keenan called his own number for an eight-yard touchdown for the first strike, but then North Attleboro QB Dylan Brousseau scampered for a 27-yard rushing touchdown on the ensuing drive.
It was more of the same in the fourth, as both QBs traded passing touchdowns. Brousseau helped North Attleboro take its first lead of the game with a 17-yard passing touchdown to Ryan Gustafson. However, they didn’t have the lead for long, as Keenan was able to find running back Amani Teixeira wide open in the field for a 48-yard tying touchdown. Teixeira already broke out for a big play in the first half with a 40-yard run after a missed field goal by North Attleboro.
In the final seconds, Torres went to kick the game-winning field goal to seal the victory for the visitors.
“I told all the guys, and I told myself the whole game, trust in the Lord, all my brothers in Jesus, that’s who I put my faith in, that’s who’s going to guide me through everything, sports-wise, person-wise,” Torres said.
“We had a lot of kids that really stepped up, and to do that against Taunton, who’s extremely well coached, what Sid’s (Brad Sidwell) done with the program, and how they fought,” North Attleboro head coach Michael Strachan said. “(I’m) very satisfied with the way that we came out with a win, but it was a grind.”