The area is already assured of one participant in the MIAA Super Bowls at Gillette Stadium a week from today, and that game will be played early in the day.
The winner of Tuesday night's Division 3 semifinal game at Taunton between Bishop Feehan and Dighton-Rehoboth will advance to the 11 a.m. game at Gillette, the second of the day.
Division 3A starts the day at 9 a.m. After the D3 game, the schedule is as follows: Division 2A at 1:30 p.m., Division 2 (possibly involving Franklin) at 3:30, Di…
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Added by Mark Farinella on November 28, 2009 at 9:46am —
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The area's three playoff-bound football teams now know where they'll be playing Tuesday night.
The MIAA Division 3 game between Bishop Feehan and Dighton-Rehoboth will be played at Taunton High's Tiger Stadium, a 7:45 p.m. start.
The Division 4A game between Tri-County and Brighton will almost be a "home" game for the Franklin-based Cougars, a 5:15 p.m. start at Franklin High's Pisini Field.
And it will be a real home game for the Hockomock League-champion Franklin Panthers, whose Division 2…
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Added by Mark Farinella on November 27, 2009 at 10:30am —
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Here are some random thoughts from one of the most memorable games in the history of the King Philip-Franklin rivalry:
** What a perfect day for a game, and what a perfect site for such a big game. The re-do of the Pisini Field complex a few years ago has produced an outstanding venue for football. I am a big fan of FieldTurf and the way it allows athletes to play at their peak and not have field conditions interfere. The rainy weather of the past couple of days could have rendered a worn-out g…
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Added by Mark Farinella on November 26, 2009 at 10:31pm —
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Two second-half fumbles turn into a nightmare for the Warriors, as Franklin scores as a result of both turnovers and goes on to the MIAA Division 2 playoffs.
Here's the box score, with bonus thoughts to follow later.
Franklin 20, King Philip 13
KP Frk
First downs 5 12
Total yardage 143 283
Rushes-yards 18-34 35-148
Passing yardage 133 154
Sacks-yds. 3-24 3-19
Comp.-Att.-Int. 7-13-0 7-18-1
Return yardage 150 2
Punts-Avg. 7-32.1 6-30.5
Fumbles-lost 3-3 1-1
Penalties-yds. 4-30 2-15
Possession 16…
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Added by Mark Farinella on November 26, 2009 at 4:11pm —
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OK, here it is, the day for which we've all been waiting. Thanksgiving Day, the day when rivalries are celebrated and contested, and generations of fans and former athletes return to their high schools to share in the excitement of the present while reliving their past.
Remember the feeling, folks. Because if some coaches push through the new football playoff plan that would start the playoffs in October and devalue the Thanksgiving games to the point where they are anti-climactic annoyances, t…
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Added by Mark Farinella on November 25, 2009 at 11:27pm —
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The Patriots are preparing to play the undefeated New Orleans Saints, but they're not too busy to get into the holiday spirit with wishes of Thanksgiving glee for one and all. Also, a special message of thanks can be heard toward the end. The Audio Blog ... there are many like it, but this one is mine.
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Added by Mark Farinella on November 25, 2009 at 5:17pm —
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Cornerback Leigh Bodden has been presented the AFC Defensive Player of the Week award for his three-interception performance Sunday against the Jets.
Here's the press release from the Patriots:
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FOXBORO – The New England Patriots announced today that CB Leigh Bodden has been named AFC Defensive Player of the Week by the National Football League for his performance in the Patriots' 31-14 victory over the New York Jets last Sunday. It is the first time that Bodden has ea…
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Added by Mark Farinella on November 25, 2009 at 1:06pm —
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My most heartfelt thanks to the Attleboro Area Football Hall of Fame, which saw fit to select me as this year's honorary inductee at the annual banquet at the Attleboro Elks Club.
More than anything else, my thanks go to the generations of athletes whose games I've covered and whose careers I've followed. I'm convinced that you are the ones who have kept Gobis and me young all these years. This honor is truly yours, not mine.
More in Sunday's column. But again, my sincere thanks.
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Added by Mark Farinella on November 24, 2009 at 10:16pm —
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For the second straight year, the Patriots have had a game "flexed" out of the Sunday Night Football slot (8:20 p.m. on NBC).
The NFL announced today that the power of Brett Favre has commanded them to move next Sunday's game between the Vikings and Cardinals in Glendale, Ariz., to the 8:20 slot. The Patriots' game at Miami will move to 1 p.m., and will be televised by CBS.
Last year, the Patriots' game at Seattle was moved out of the late slot because it was not a Brady-vs.-Hasselbeck meeting…
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Added by Mark Farinella on November 24, 2009 at 4:03pm —
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Here is the list of football all-stars selected by the Hockomock League. I apologize in advance for typographical errors and the like, but it's basically raw copy from the league, and as I have a myriad of things to do today, I don't have time to format it. So here is it.
Remember, these are the Hockomock's all-stars, not The Sun Chronicle's. We haven't even started picking that yet. You'll see those next month sometime.
From the league:
FOOTBALL
Offense
Nick Colson---Offense MVP---Franklin…
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Added by Mark Farinella on November 24, 2009 at 11:28am —
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Jets' coach Rex Ryan is crying again -- this time about a long pass that Tom Brady tried to throw to Randy Moss toward the end of their game at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
I didn't see it because I was en route from the press box to the locker room on a course through the bowels of Gillette, but it fell incomplete. Ryan, however, felt it was an attempt by the Patriots to run up the score on his Jets.
"It was surprising," Ryan said in the post-game press conference. "Again, things happen. (Bill…
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Added by Mark Farinella on November 24, 2009 at 10:49am —
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The following is from an NFL press release. Pay attention closely, because it took me two or three readings to make sure I understood exactly what league record the Patriots' wide receivers had broken.
DUELING DUOS: A record that hadn't been topped since 1964 was surpassed twice on Sunday.
The Chicago Bears' tandem of wide receiver JOHNNY MORRIS (77) and Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end MIKE DITKA (59) combined for 136 catches through the first 10 games of the 1964 season. In 1995, the Detr…
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Added by Mark Farinella on November 23, 2009 at 3:00pm —
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The Patriots are back on the right track and heading to the Big Easy at the end of the week to take on the undefeated New Orleans Saints, but before then, we've got a lot of football business that needs our attention.
It's time for something that makes Massachusetts almost entirely unique in the country -- Thanksgiving Day high school football. High school games are played on Thanksgiving in only a handful of states (just 10 and the District of Columbia according to Wikipedia, although none as…
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Added by Mark Farinella on November 23, 2009 at 7:40am —
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Here are the hots and nots from the print edition, and the game notes from both teams.
After that, please stick around to check out a few personal statistics that will hopefully correct a few misconceptions and inaccuracies that are floating around about this blog.
PRINT EDITION "HOTS AND NOTS"
WHO'S HOT
WES WELKER: A game for the ages. Fifteen catches in 17 tries, 192 yards, a great 43-yard catch to set up a crucial score. The only thing missing was an end-zone throw for him.
LEIGH BO…
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Added by Mark Farinella on November 23, 2009 at 1:05am —
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Here, courtesy of NFL.com, are the final individual stats from toda's game.
JETS
Passing CP/AT YDS TD INT
M. Sanchez 8/21 136 1 4
Rushing CAR YDS TD LG
T. Jones 21 103 0 15
M. Sanchez 1 2 0 2
T. Richardson 1 0 0 0
S. Greene 3 -1 0 2
Receiving REC YDS TD LG
J. Cotchery 3 84 1 33
D. Keller 3 38…
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Added by Mark Farinella on November 22, 2009 at 8:16pm —
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Laurence Maroney just scored on a slant left on third-and-goal from the 1 (after two unsuccessful sneaks by Tom Brady), cashing in on the Meriweather interception on an eight-play, 25-yard drive. It's 31-14 with 5:06 left, and time for me to concentrate a little on the print edition.
We'll be back later with final stats, the hots and nots and the game notes from the Patriots.
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Added by Mark Farinella on November 22, 2009 at 7:06pm —
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Welker's 12-yard catch was his 14th of the game, a new career best.
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Added by Mark Farinella on November 22, 2009 at 7:00pm —
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Mark Sanchez just threw the ball away in desperation out of his end zone, and right into the hands of Brandon Meriweather at the Jets' 29. It's his fourth interception of the day and the only one not made by Leigh Bodden. Jerricho Cotchery was the intended receiver.
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Added by Mark Farinella on November 22, 2009 at 6:58pm —
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Mark Sanchez just missed a wide-open Braylon Edwards, and Leigh Bodden made his third interception of the day. That ties the Patriot record of three set previously by Asante Samuel in the Patriots' 17-13 win over Chicago at Gillette on Nov. 26, 2006.
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Added by Mark Farinella on November 22, 2009 at 6:49pm —
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The Patriots are punting the ball away at the end of the third quarter.
Tom Brady has gone over 3,000 passing yards for the season, the seventh time in his career, which ties him with Drew Bledsoe for the most times by a Patriot. Brady will likely pass Bledsoe's team record for total yardage (2…
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Added by Mark Farinella on November 22, 2009 at 6:46pm —
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