TAUNTON, Mass. - Taunton and Coyle & Cassidy renewed their rivalry for the 84th time on Thursday, and this game had a similar story to the past five meetings between the two teams.
Coyle received the opening the kickoff, and they wasted no time in putting pressure on the Taunton defense. But Taunton’s Adam Leonard blocked a Christian Sotelo 27 yard field goal attempt that stalled a 57 yard Warrior drive, which included a Frank Trojano 22 yard run and a Tristan Blaisdell to Connor Rodriguez 31 yard pitch-and-catch. Terrence Gibson carried the ball 47 yards on the ensuing play, but Taunton fumbled later in the drive and turned the ball back over to Coyle.
Taunton then forced a punt and put together an 11 play, 86 yard scoring drive. Leonard was flushed out of the pocket on 4th and 22 from the Coyle 31 yard line, but he found Adam McGlaughlin in the end zone for the score. Ben Tully added the extra point that gave Taunton a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Coyle answered quickly though, as Brian Rosa got in from two yards out after Blaisdell and Rodriguez connected on a 42 yard pass that got the Warriors to that point. Sotelo added the extra point to tie the game at 7-7.
Taunton’s next drive belonged to Gibson, as he single-handedly led Taunton 52 yards for a touchdown, the scoring play being a four yard run in which he carried the pile from the line of scrimmage all the way to the goal line. Tully once again was successful on the point after that gave the Tigers a 14-7 lead with 1:01 left in the half.
“[Gibson] pretty much just strapped the team on his back, almost in a literal sense,” Taunton head coach Chris Greding said. “We just kept running the same play, right up the middle, give the ball to Terrence, he carried four or five guys right up the gut. He’s done that all season for us.”
Taunton forced a quick three-and-out on Coyle’s next possession, and they made what little time was left on the clock count. Leonard handed it off to Brian Cherenfant, who then lateraled back to Leonard, and he found Griffin Galligan for a 41 yard touchdown with no time on the clock. Tully added the extra point again and Taunton took a 21-7 lead into halftime.
“That was huge,” Greding said of the two late scores. “If we didn’t do that, you’re looking at a tied ballgame. They shut us out in the third quarter, and we were able to score late in the fourth. It would’ve been a completely different game if we didn’t pop those two in. It’s certainty a credit to Coyle. Their coaches did a great job preparing their team for us.”
“It was simply a matter of execution,” Coyle head coach Tom Pileski said of that stretch. “You know where you’re supposed to be, don’t do anymore than that. Play your position, and unfortunately we didn’t play our position, and they made a couple of big plays before the half, and when you look back, that was the turning point of the game.”
The two teams did not carry over that offensive rhythm, though, as the third quarter and much of the fourth quarter passed without any scoring.
Late in the fourth, Leonard picked off Blaisdell deep in Taunton territory, ending Coyle’s dreams of snapping a five game Thanksgiving Day losing streak. The Tigers then went 82 yards for the game sealing score, a Gibson 38 yard run capping the eight play drive. Taunton attempted a fake extra point, but the conversion was unsuccessful and Taunton settled for a 27-7 victory.
Taunton manufactured exactly 400 yards of total offense, compared to just 182 yards for Coyle. Adam Leonard was an efficient 6 for 10 passing for 121 yards and 2 touchdowns in the game. Gibson finished the day with 222 yards on 22 carries and 2 touchdowns.
“It’s been a very long season for us, a lot of ups and downs, especially in the win-loss column,” Greding said. “It really doesn’t matter what your record is coming into this game, and I don’t want to call it a Super Bowl because it certainly isn’t, but it’s the one game that everybody will remember about the 2014 season. Whether it’s people who cheer for Taunton or people who cheer for Coyle, they’re going to remember Coyle and Taunton 2014.”
Taunton finished the season 2-9 and improved to 46-36-2 all-time in the Thanksgiving Day series with Coyle & Cassidy. The Tigers have now won the past six meetings over their cross-town rival.
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