So when the teams met in Stoughton for the fourth game of the season, it was an eye opener when the Tigers rolled to a 35-7 win over the Black Knights.
But Stoughton took the result, and kept it in the back of their minds. Under the new playoff format, there was a chance that Stoughton could get a rematch with their rivals in the D3 Southwest playoffs.
That's exactly what happened, with Oliver Ames and Stoughton each picking up wins in their first two games to set up a rivalry game in the D3 Southwest Finals at Muscato Field in North Easton.
The game was much tighter than the first meeting and in the end, it came down the last drives of each team. In the end, it was the Black Knights that edged Oliver Ames in a thrilling finish.
Ryan Lanigan covered the game for ESPNBoston.com:
Sophomore Jake Gibb wasn't the starting quarterback at the beginning of the season for Stoughton, but you'd never know that with the confidence he played with on the Black Knights’ final drive Friday.
Gibb led Stoughton from their own 26-yard line to the Oliver Ames 8 in 16 plays before kicking the game-winning field goal himself with just over a minute left as No. 2 seed Stoughton downed previously unbeaten No. 1 Oliver Ames, 16-14, in the Division 3 Southwest final.
"We had a tough time," Stoughton head coach Greg Burke said. "They are a good team, an excellent team. I'm happy they had a great season and I'm glad we aren't playing them again. They gave us a good licking in the first one and we played a little better today and we played harder and it showed, I think, that we got a little better then maybe they did.
Oliver Ames opened the fourth quarter with two straight incompletions before punting it to the Black Knights with 10:30 left in the fourth quarter. Stoughton used up 9:22 on their 16-play drive before Gibb put it through the uprights on a 25-yard field goal with 1:08 left.
But Oliver Ames nearly stole it back.
After the field goal, Oliver Ames returned it to their own 28 and quarterback Nick Cidado drove his team down to the Stoughton 11-yard line in 51 seconds. But with just three seconds left, the Tiger's 28-yard field goal was wide right.
There's eating up the clock, and then there's what Stoughton did in the fourth quarter on Friday night.
The Black Knights took over at their own 26-yard line with 10:30 left in the fourth quarter, trailing 14-13. 16 plays and 9 minutes and 22 seconds later, sophomore Jake Gibb hit a 25-yard field goal to give Stoughton at 16-14 lead, leaving just 1:08 left for the Tigers.
And even with that much time, the Tigers almost stole the game back.
Senior quarterback Nick Cidado led the Tigers from their own 28-yard line down to the Stoughton 11-yard line in just 51 seconds but the Tiger's 28-yard field goal attempt was wide as time expired.
"We had a tough time," Stoughton head coach Greg Burke said. "They are a good team, an excellent team. I'm happy they had a great season and I'm glad we aren't playing them again. They gave us a good licking in the first one and we played a little better today and we played harder and it showed I think, that we got a little better then maybe they did. But that's a great team, I'm glad I don't have to play them next week. This one counts."
The Stoughton High School football team knew it needed a combination of elite skill and a few bounces to go its way if it was going to pull off an upset against top-seeded and unbeaten Oliver Ames in the final of the Div. 3 Southwest football playoff when the two squads met Friday night at Muscato Stadium.
The Black Knights are just glad they had enough of both to grab themselves a championship.
Stoughton quarterback Jake Gibb kicked a 22-yard field goal with 1:03 remaining in the fourth quarter to lead second-seeded Stoughton (9-1) to a thrilling 16-14 comeback victory over Oliver Ames (9-1) to win the title.
The Tigers missed a short-range field goal as time expired.With the victory, Stoughton advances to play Plymouth South in state semifinal-round play next Friday night (Nov. 22) at 7 at Marciano Stadium in Brockton.
“This is for all the people who doubted we could win this game,” said Stoughton coach Greg Burke. “I would like to thank everybody for all of their hard work and effort. We’re just thankful we got this win.”
#11: Vaulting To The Top
#12: Triple Overtime Thriller
#13: The Brick Wall
#14: Making A Big Splash
#15: The Buzzer Beater
Honorable Mention: The Finalists
2012-2013: The Complete Countdown