Sharon Football Shocks Foxborough With A 21-7 Win

Up and down the Foxborough sideline Friday night was pure shock. Sharon was never the type of team to put up a fight or to be a threat, but on this night things were different. From the opening kick to the final whistle, it was evident who was the better team and this time it wasn't Foxborough.

“I’ll make it simple. They (Sharon) outplayed us and they deserved to win the game,” said Foxborough coach Jack Martinelli.

The Sharon Eagles upset the Foxborough Warriors 21-7 on Senior Night to get their first win over Foxborough since 1998.

After forcing a quick three and out, the Eagles got the ball and quickly went to work. Sean Asnes capped off a 12 play drive with a two yard rush for a touchdown and the opening score of the game with 4:10 left in the first quarter.

The Eagles continued to get the ball back after the proceeding kickoff was fumbled by the Warriors and recovered by the Eagles for their second possession of the game. While they got the ball back, the Eagles couldn’t do anything as a holding penalty and a bad run forced the Eagles to punt with 2:03 left in the first.

After the Warriors failed to convert on a fourth and five, the Eagles took over on their own 31-yard line for a 16 play drive with over 7:21 to almost kill the clock before half time. Asnes once again came up big with a five yard run to give the Eagles a 14-0 lead going into the half. The drive was another long drive that Sharon used to their advantage against the Warriors. Keeping the ball out of Foxborough’s hands was critical for an Eagles victory.

“That was the toughness thing. You can’t do stuff like that going to the wishbone like we did if you’re not tough,” said Sharon coach Dave Morse. “Credit to these kids. They’re the ones that pushed the pile. I didn’t do it.”

The Warriors woke up in the third quarter and cut the lead in half with a 4 yard run from Kiivone Howard with five seconds left in the third quarter. The 10-play drive saw the Warriors escape a second and 14 and multiple third downs to make it a 14-7 game with a quarter to play.

The Warriors' final chance to tie the game came after stopping the Eagles on fourth and 1 with less than two minutes in the game. After getting a first down at the Sharon 40 yard line, the Eagles’ Brad Schiff forced a fumble out of Warriors quarterback Nick Sestito and it was quickly recovered by Jordan Owen to give the Eagles the ball back with 1:21 left in the game.

The Warriors were able to force a third and 14 at the Eagles 36 but as he had all night, Asnes once again came up big with a 64-yard touchdown run to lock up a Sharon victory and leave Ahern Field speechless. The play was a big one for Asnes as he got a little more than the first down he needed to guarantee a Sharon win.

“He (Asnes) breaks tackles and he hits those corners and he can run. Individually Sean had an unbelievable game,” said Morse.

Asnes led the game with 159 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns on 24 carries. Evantz Elisma had 61 yards rushing on 7 carries for the Eagles.

Kiivone Howard led the Warriors in rushing with 89 yards on the ground with a touchdown off of 17 carries. Greg Stamatov had 5 receptions for 38 yards.

It was an important win for the Eagles who improve to 4-5 overall but 2-1 inside the Davenport Division. The win in addition to the Oliver Ames win over Stoughton puts the Eagles in a 3-way tie for the Davenport Division title with the Black Knights and the Tigers.

“It (the win) means a lot. We worked hard all week and to get the win means everything,” said Sharon running back Sean Asnes.

The win puts the Eagles in a most unusual spot for them. A win on Thanksgiving combined with a Stoughton loss would give the Eagles the Davenport Division title and their first trip to the postseason in school history.

The Warriors are now 4-5 overall and 1-3 inside the Davenport Division.

Next up for both teams will be their annual Thanksgiving rivalry games. The Warriors will host Mansfield while the Eagles will be at home against the Oliver Ames Tigers with postseason dreams on the line for both teams.

“We’re going to work our butt off over the next 10 days and we’re going to give it our best shot,” said Morse.

Both games kickoff on Thanksgiving morning at 10am.