FRANKLIN— The feeling of heartbreak was palpable along the Taunton High football team’s sideline following the conclusion of Thursday’s game.
After going down 14-0 in the second quarter, the Tigers (2-3, 0-2 Hockomock Kelley-Rex) scored four straight touchdowns to take a 27-14 lead heading into the final quarter. Just 11 minutes separated Taunton coach Brad Sidwell from his first win over Franklin (4-1, 2-0 Hockomock Kelley-Rex), the team he helmed for 21 seasons.
Then, the Panthers came crawling back.
A 15-yard run on a third-and-10 by junior quarterback Justin Bianchetto helped save a drive capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run by junior running back Andrew Fraulo to bring the hosts within six with 9:44 left to play. The Tigers thought they had a break when senior running back Ethan Harris broke out for an 18-yard run on fourth down, but a holding call the next play pushed them back and eventually led to a punt.
After back-to-back three-and-outs for both sides, Franklin got the ball back in the closing seconds. Excitement was building throughout Pisini Stadium among the Panther faithful when sophomore kicker Arnav Dhulipati, who went a perfect 4-for-4 on extra points, turned to junior wide receiver Kyle Walsh with a prediction.
“Arnav came up to me and he goes, ‘You’ve got to finish this, I’ll make the extra point,’ and I said, ‘I’ve got you,'” Walsh said.
Twelve plays later, on a second-and-goal from the Taunton 4-yard line, Walsh turned and received the pass in the end zone to draw Franklin back even at 27-27 with five seconds left. Then Dhulipati fulfilled his end of the bargain as he sent a kick through the uprights to seal the 28-27 Hockomock Kelley-Rex win.
“That’s one of the best team’s Taunton has had since (Sidwell’s) been there,” Panthers coach Eian Bain, who was hired by then Franklin athletic director Sidwell to replace him as coach in 2016, said. “They don’t have a weakness: they’re good everywhere. They took it to us tonight in a lot of areas, but I’m glad we were able to battle back, persevere and get a win.”
FOLLOW LIVE: Greater Taunton high school football Week 5 scores and highlights
As for Sidwell and the Tigers, who suffered their third straight loss, it was an evening of missed opportunities.
“We should’ve won the game,” Sidwell said. “We made too many mistakes at the end. We got a little mojo running the ball there a little bit and we kind of just couldn’t convert when we needed to. We went for it on fourth and we got it, then we got a penalty that put us behind on a drive we seemed to be moving it, but they’re a good team and they found a way to win the game.”
Harris led the offense for Taunton from the backfield, rushing the ball 17 times for 133 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown, while also adding three tackles at linebacker.
“We caught fire there (with Harris),” Sidwell said. “He’s a good, hard runner and a good linebacker as well.”
Senior wide receiver Dmitrius Shearrion hauled in two long touchdown catches for the Tigers, one for 31 yards and the other for 55, during the third quarter. Sophomore quarterback Dylan Keenan went 6-of-13 passing for 96 yards and a pair of touchdowns while also having 10 carries for 32 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, senior defensive back Jose Touron led the way with six tackles, while junior linebacker Elijah Prophete had five, senior defensive back Anthony Pettijohn had four and senior linebacker Ryan Keenan had three.
As for the Panthers, Bianchetto went 29-of-56 passing for 281 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Walh had nine catches for 63 yards and a touchdown. Senior wide receiver Derek Dubriske had 11 catches for 78 yards and a touchdown while junior running back Andrew Fraulo had 18 carries for 62 yards and a pair of touchdowns as well as six catches for 46 yards.
On defense, sophomore tackle Adrian Rampino had a sack and two tackles while senior linebacker Coby Howard made one of the most crucial plays of the game: blocking Taunton junior kicker Trinley Dudley’s fourth extra point attempt in the fourth quarter to deny the Tigers that all-important 28th point.
Vote: Who is the Taunton Daily Gazette Football Player of the Week for Week 4
Looking back, while he said there’s plenty of work to be done, Bain was thoroughly impressed by the efforts of his team to not back down.
“That was a championship effort,” Bain said. “We played like champions, and even if we walked away from that at the end (with the loss), what a fight, what a finish. I’m glad that we had the guts and the championship pedigree to close it out.”
Both teams return to action next week, with Taunton travelling to North Attleboro (2-2, 0-1 Hockomock Kelley-Rex) Thursday while Franklin hosts Central Catholic (0-4, 0-0 Merrimack Valley Large) on Friday.
Taunton Daily Gazette sports reporter Cameron Merritt can be reached at [email protected]. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @CamMerritt_News. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to the Taunton Daily Gazette today.
2023-10-06 04:07:30
#Franklin #High #football #rallies #defeat #Taunton
