HERALD’S WEEKEND H.S. FOOTBALL PREVIEW
North Attleboro is well on its way to proving that the 2019 season was a mere blip on the radar screen.
After struggling through an injury-plagued 4-7 season, their first losing campaign in more than 25 years, the Red Rocketeers are back in business. They’ll take a perfect 3-0 record into Saturday’s Hockomock Davenport showdown with Stoughton, who sports the same record.
“We had a lot of guys who played out of necessity and they’re much more confident,” North Attleboro coach Don Johnson said. “The guys worked hard in the offseason and came back bigger and stronger.”
Stoughton was 8-3 last season, with the losses coming to powers Canton (twice) and Duxbury. Veteran coach Greg Burke isn’t surprised by his team’s quick start coming out of the gates.
“We had eight guys coming back and we had a few lineman back as well,” said Burke, whose team has outscored the opposition by a 90-14 count to date. “We felt coming into the season that we were going to be decent, but usually you know more about your team in Week 4 and here we are.” Stoughton loves running the ball and it has two of the premier backs in the Hockomock League in twins Christian Ais and Christopher Ais. Christian Georges has been a force on both sides of the ball.
“They have a very good backfield, they are all over 6 feet, weigh over 200 pounds and are physical and fast,” Johnson said. “It’s the biggest challenge we’ve faced so far. We’re going to have to be able to match them physically.”
Like Stoughton, North Attleboro hasn’t been tested to date. The Red Rocketeers have put up more than 40 points in each of their three wins with quarterback Tyler DeMattio healthy and back to driving opposing defenses crazy with his dualthreat ability.
“He’s a terrific player, the No. 1 guy we have to slow down,” Burke said. “They’re controlling the ball pretty well, playing good defense and they’re well coached.”
Another key matchup in the Hockomock League features Div. 2 champion Mansfield at home against King Philip. St. John’s Prep will look to get back on track when it travels to St. John’s (S), while Holliston is at Ashland. KIPP will host Lowell Catholic, and BC High heads north to face Central Catholic.
Today’s schedule is lighter than usual due in large part to Good Friday. Bourne comes off an easy opening win, but will get a better barometer of where it is when it hosts Dighton-Rehoboth. Tewksbury
looks to remain atop the Merrimack Valley Conference Small when it travels to North Andover.