Foxborough Warrior Football Falls to North Attleboro in Season Opener

This game wasn’t supposed to happen. Foxboro could have easily accepted the fact that it was the off year for the rivalry and schedule another opponent. Give credit to Foxboro for scheduling the game as a non-league game and accepting the challenge of facing a very strong North Attleboro team. Despite their efforts and an improved second half, it was not enough in the 33-14 loss to the Red Rocketeers.

As strong of a start as it was for North Attleboro, it was as rough of a start for Foxboro. Scoring on all three possessions in the first half, the Rocketeers had no problem running the ball against the Foxboro defense.

“We knew that was going to be their strength and we had people there. They blocked better than we came up,” said Foxboro coach Jack Martinelli.

Even when North Attleboro was not running, they saw great success in the air. Paul Norris put the Big Red on the board with a 16-yard catch to give North Attleboro a 7-0 lead after the extra point.

“I thought he was a big factor early and then defensively too. He does such a good job on defense,” said North Attleboro coach Don Johnson.

Foxboro attempted to drive down the field but could not overcome the pressure from the North Attleboro defense. Being forced to punt on all of their first half drives, North Attleboro was able to capitalize by getting two more touchdowns.

The North Attleboro running attacked continued to cause headaches for the Warriors. QB Spyro Varetimos helped drive down the field with multiple runs before handing off to Alex Jette for a 7 yard touchdown run. It wouldn’t be Jette’s only touchdown. He would get one more before the half to give the Red Rocketeers’ a 20-0 lead after 2 quarters of play.

Despite the large deficit, the Warriors showed signs of life early in the third quarter. Taking advantage of a fumble recovery at their own 11-yard line. Nick Sestito was able to find the end zone off a QB keeper from the 1-yard line to make it a 2-touchdown game.

Even with the touchdown, North Attleboro was too strong. Stretching the run and displaying more lateral movement, North Attleboro continued to drive down the field with run after run.

“They were able to stretch the field. We just didn’t get there in time,” said Martinelli.

Down 33-7 late in the fourth quarter, Foxboro continued to play with no quit. A final drive that resulted in a touchdown towards the end of the game showed that Foxboro was still playing at their best but it was not enough as North Attleboro walked away with the victory.

Sestito led in passing for the Warriors with 114 yard throws. Greg Stamatov was able to get 76 yards off of 3 catches.

It was a big day on the ground for the Red Rocketeers. Wesley Nicholls had a game high 92 yards rushing. QB Spyro Varetimos did most of his damage on the ground with 79 yards rushing. Troy Richardson’s 37 yards rushing and Alex Jette’s 44 yards on the ground rounded out the North Attleboro offense.

It was a tough way to start the season for Foxboro. Falling to their rival, it was not the way the Warriors were looking to start the season.

“They (North Attleboro) played hard. We played hard but we didn’t play good enough,” said Martinelli.

Even with the defeat, the team is trying to look at the positives to take out of the game.

“They came out in the second half and played a little better football. That was the focus at halftime. More important than the end result, they didn’t pack it in and not show up in the second half,” said Martinelli.

Next up for the Warriors will be another out of league game against Falmouth High School. Kickoff is set for 7pm on September 16th at the Ahern Field in Foxboro.