Stoughton Keeps Rolling
Almost all of the talk when it comes to Hockomock football has been focused on the big bad Kelley-Rex division. While those six teams have been impressive, the Davenport hasn't been too shabby themselves. Stoughton and Oliver Ames are both off to 3-0 starts and came away with impressive wins in their first divisional games. The Black Knights offense has been on an absolute tear, scoring over 38 points a game on average. Even more impressive is that all three of there games have been on the road and all three have been blowout wins. Malachi Baugh has posted back to back weeks scoring three touchdowns and went over 200 total yards against Milford. Lennox Greene has been another great sight in the backfield while the Stoughton defense has been tough as usual.
Mansfield Running Strong and Defensively Tough
Everyone dialed in on the Mansfield pass game as the season started, and rightfully so with stud quarterback Kyle Wisnieski and weapons like Brendan Hill, Michael Hershman, and Kyle Hurley. We knew that Mansfield was going to use a couple of different backs throughout their games, but it seems they've found their premiere back. Miguel Villar-Perez - nicknamed "Sweet Feet" - was expecting to be going out to catch passes but has instead been taking handoffs and shuttle passes from Wisnieski. Villar-Perez has now run for over 100 yards in two straight games and recorded his first two rushing touchdowns against North Attleboro. Also impressive for the Hornets was the defense and it started with Hill. Although the big man is known for his pass catching and run blocking, he was a force on Friday night and constantly a problem for North Attleboro. Hill forced two fumbles while Kyle Hurley had a sack and strip in his first game back. Mansfield's starting defense allowed just one touchdown to North's starting offense.
Cidado Deserves To Be in the Player of the Year Race
Oliver Ames head coach Jim Artz said you can see "a world of difference" in quarterback Nick Cidado from last year to this year. And he's right. Cidado was good last year but through three games this year, Cidado has been great. Even just his improvement from their first game against Hingham to this past weekend's game against Foxboro, Cidado has improved. He comes out every game with something that every quarterback needs - confidence. He was on first throwing to start for the Warriors and he ended up finishing 12/18. Of the six incompletions, four were right towards his receivers - one dropped and one knocked away on a good defensive play. One was batted down at the line and just one was off target from Cidado. His ability to run with the football makes him even better and keeps defenses off balance. And on top of that, he's a pretty good punter too.
Running game gives Bombardiers balance
Tim Walsh is rightly earning plaudits for leading Attleboro to a 3-0 start, as the senior quarterback is working the ball around the field and utilizing the Bombardiers numerous weapons in the passing attack. However, the Bombardiers proved on Friday night against Franklin that there is more to their offense than just the spread formation passing game. In the second half, with the lead, Attleboro looked to the ground game to eat up the clock and had great success with a slower tempo, power game. Dave Duquette, Brandon Clark, Tom Burns, and speedy junior Damon Belin gives Attleboro a good combination of guys that force teams to respect the play action, opening up Walsh to find Brenden Massey or Luke Morrison down the field.
Teams will rightly key on Walsh as the player to stop, but as the quarterback himself explained, “When we’re throwing the ball, we’re gaining yards, they’re not expecting the run. When we get the run going –- a two-way attack you just can’t stop it.”
Tighter coverage biggest improvement in Attleboro secondary
In last season’s game against Franklin, Attleboro played a lot of zone coverage against the Panthers spread and Nick Zucco ran and passed the Bombardiers into the ground. Franklin is willing to take the four- or five-yard completion, if you give it to them, so sitting back allowed the Panthers to get into a rhythm. This year, Attleboro has a whole new defensive scheme (gone is the standard 4-4 look) and the defensive backs played much tighter on the receivers. Tom Burns (3 interceptions) and Brendan Clark, in particular, but also Pat Dunn and Ryan Bowen seemed to be right on top of Franklin’s receivers and held Nick Zucco to just 11-27 passing. It was Zucco’s first start of the season and he did look a little rusty, but it will give Attleboro confidence ahead of next week’s visit of Mansfield, who may be the no. 1 team in the state by then, and the Hornets terrific passing attack. On a side note, 6-foot-3, 235-pound sophomore defensive lineman Kyle Murphy also looks to be a great talent for Attleboro and one to watch going forward.
King Philip is good - really good
Its certainly becoming a trend at King Philip that their defense is on another level. The Warriors took the field against a Taunton offense that had clicked very well through two games - averaging 39.5 points a game - and held the Tigers to just one touchdown. When asked how much KP prides themselves on defense, captain Joe Johnston said, "Oh, so much - It's almost like its overlooked because we're barely even on the field most of the time." It showed early on two, as on the first two KP defensive series, the Warriors came away with turnovers. On the other side of the ball, the Warrior offensive line - "very nice boys," according to head coach Brian Lee - dominated and created huge gaps for Johnston and Christian Flaherty. Taunton head coach called Johnston "a stud" post game while Johnston admitted that something changes when he gets on the field.
"I try to run angry, I'm generally a really happy kid," he said. "Once I get on the football field, something gets into me and I like to run angry."
Playoff Update
With the new playoff system capturing the attention of everyone in the league, here is an update of the current standings according to The Boston Herald.
D1 South - Attleboro is currently in first with a 12.67 rating and is the lone unbeaten team at 3-0. Franklin is tied for 9th sitting at 1-2 with a 4.67 rating.
D2 South - Mansfield and King Philip both are at 3-0 but are not in the top spot. The Hornets are in second with a 14.67 rating behind Natick's 15.33. King Philip sits in third with a 13.67 record. Taunton is tied for 7th with two other teams with a 2-1 record at 9.33.
D3 Southeast - Sharon is the lone D3 Southeast team and after their first win to bring their record to 1-2, they are in the 8th slot with a 4.67 rating.
D3 Southwest - The Hock is showing very well in the D3 Southwest bracket as Oliver Ames, Stoughton, and North Attleboro are inside the top five. OA currently sits in the top spot at 3-0 with a 12.33 rating. Stoughton is also 3-0 and is tied for second with an 11.00 rating, even with Hopkinton. North Attleboro isn't far behind at 2-1, tied for fourth with hingham with a 10.33 rating. League newcomer Milford is 11th at 0-3 with a 3.33 rating.
D4 South - It's been a tough go so far for the two D4 South Hockomock teams. Foxboro fell to 1-2 after dropping a game to Oliver Ames and sits in 10th with a 5.67 record. Canton is still winless at 0-3 and is sitting at 13th with a 2.00 rating.
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