Middleboro beats Apponequet in defensive battle 14-7

MIDDLEBORO – After a hot start, Middleboro and Apponequet struggled to find scoring opportunities until the early fourth quarter.

It was a wide-open Wyatt Goyette who scored a 28-yard TD from junior teammate Colton Ward to make it 14-7 for the Middleboro Sachems with 9:53 left. That score remained in the non-league game after a key fourth-down play gave the Sachems the ball back to wait out the rest of the clock.

“I think it’s a credit to our kids,” Sachems coach Patrick Kingman said. “I think they bought into that probably in 2011, just building a culture and being a little tough.”

Team captain Andrew Falk stopped Apponequet team captain Brody Joly on a corner kick from a half-yard short, which resulted in the fifth turnover Middleboro (1-0) forced on the night as the Sachems conceded the remaining 1:28.

“It’s fourth-and-long, and we practice that in practice all the time,” Falk said of the stop. “That’s just the main thing we focus on. They got the ball to the running back and I knew I had to make the play. They were just a yard too far, so it was a little close.”

Falk also had an 11-yard run to set up the second touchdown, as well as a 15-yard run on fourth down to help the Sachems take advantage of more time late in the fourth.

“Falk might be the most dominant player on the football field,” Kingman said. “He makes a billion plays on defense, and you can’t throw the ball to him. … It takes a big fourth-down or third-down play, and you can give him the ball and he’ll run it.”

Team captain Caiden Carriuolo started the game off with a bang, running 59 yards on his second play to give his team a 7-0 lead with just 45 seconds left in the game.

Carriuolo finished the game with nine attempts for 78 yards and was sidelined for most of the second half with an injury.

Apponequet (0-1) responded immediately with a nine-play drive that took 4:56 to complete when sophomore Paxton Canessa passed the ball to Joly from 21 yards out to tie the score at 7-7 with 6:12 left in the first quarter.

Joly gained 124 yards, 67 on the ground and 57 in the air on four catches. Canessa was 11-of-16 for 141 yards and a score.

Middleboro didn’t get much further until the fourth quarter, turning the ball over twice in the first half and then falling behind late in the second quarter.

The defense had to try harder and did so brilliantly – forcing three turnovers in the first half and ultimately finishing the game with five.

“It’s just a huge change in the dynamic of the game,” Goyette said of coming up with stops. “Making a big stop and then going out there on offense and trying to score points.”

Sophomore Brady Stewart made a huge sack to end the Lakers’ second-round game and was one of five sacks for the Sachems. Junior DJ Alexander also finished with two sacks for the defense.

Next up is Middleboro hosting Holliston next Friday at 7:00 p.m. Apponequet will look to redeem itself next Friday at 7:00 p.m. in Abington.

Originally published: September 5, 2024 at 8:16 PM