Mansfield Tops Foxboro 14-7 in Defensive Battle

Worries that Thanksgiving games would become meaningless with the new tournament formate were not met at Ahern Field as the annual Foxboro-Mansfield game was played with no less intensity and starters from Mansfield despite playing for a state title next week.

A cold day that saw the ball stay on the ground, the Warriors gave Hornets one of their toughest challenges of the year during a 14-7 Mansfield win that saw two out of three touchdowns come from the defense.

“I think we gave them our best game. It’s disappointing to lose but we gave them a run for their money and that’s that,” Foxboro senior captain Luc Valenza said. “We couldn’t have asked for anything more from our defense.”

After a scoreless first quarter, Foxboro found themselves pinned at their own two-yard line after a punt from the Mansfield 45, the Hornets got on the board after Max Trowbridge blocked and recovered an attempted punt in the end zone to give the Hornets a 7-0 lead with nine minutes left in the second quarter.

Momentum continued to go Mansfield’s way after a fumble by Keeyon Neal at the Warriors’ 29-yard line gave the Hornets the ball back after the first play on the Foxboro drive.

The five-play drive from the Hornets resulted in a five-yard touchdown run by Alex Ruddy on fourth and one and the extra point extended the lead to 14-0 with 6:32 left in the half.

With the offense struggling to put together drives, the Foxboro defense did everything they could to stay in the game. With only three interceptions all season, Mansfield QB Kyle Wisnieski picked up two against Foxboro including a 72-yard interception returned for a touchdown by Austin Gutierrez with 2:35 left in the half.

Tim O'Halloran also halted a Mansfield drive with an interception with seven seconds left in the first half.

Mansfield’s attempts to put away the Warriors fail numerous times including early in the fourth quarter. Inside the Foxboro 10-yard line, a pair of runs by Curtis Boisvert brought up a third and goal from the two which was stopped by the Warriors defense. On fourth and goal from the one, Ruddy was held for no gain as the Hornets turned the ball over on downs.

The Warriors had one final drive to tie the game with time ticking away. Starting at their own 18-yard line, a seven-yard pass to Jess Todd from Nolan Rogers and a three-yard gain from Ronnie Martin moved the chains to the Foxboro 28-yard line. Quickly getting back to the line of scrimmage, a pass to O’Halloran was completed for five-yards followed by another five-yard run by Martin.

Faced with a fourth and three at the Mansfield 45-yard line, an incomplete pass intended for O’Halloran gave the ball to Mansfield.

Multiple runs by the Hornets ran out the clock as Mansfield survived the defensive battle.

Despite the win, injury fears with the state title game next week became a reality for Mansfield when Brendan Hill twisted his knee early in the first quarter and running back Miguel Perez injured his shoulder in the second half. After the game, Mansfield head coach Mike Redding said the players would be reevaluated early next week.

While Foxboro’s season is done, Mansfield will play St. John’s for the Division 2 State Championship at Gillette Stadium on Dec. 7