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NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH, Mass. – Hockomock League rivals Attleboro and North Attleborough were equals through much of their Thanksgiving Day clash. The Blue Bombardier and Red Rocketeer lines roughed each other up, sloshing through a muddied turf at North.

Tied 7-7 in the fourth quarter, No. 19 North controlled play with a sustained drive that set the Red Rocketeers up with a first-and-goal from the 9-yard line.

However, after a pass attempt and two rushes fell short of the end zone, North’s season came down to a fourth-and-goal at the 1.

Then, North quarterback Spyro Varetimos entered the huddle with a purpose.

“He said, ‘We’re running this in for the championship,’” senior captain Paul Norris said. “Everybody just kind of lifted up at that point.”

Varetimos crossed the goal line with 5:24 remaining and Big Red held on for a 14-7 win over their town border rivals. With the victory, North (9-1, 3-1 Kelley-Rex) earned a share of the Hockomock large division title. And, although the Red Rocketeers’ season ended then and there, due to a tiebreaker won by King Philip, there was an air of accomplishment held by the teammates, not disappointment.

‘We’re co-champions of the league, that’s all we could’ve asked for,” Norris said.

Varetimos had a hand in all of North’s points, connecting with Alex Jette on a 33-yard touchdown pass to open scoring in the second quarter.

North’s lone defensive gaffe of the game came at the end of the third, when Blue Bombardiers running back Malique Clark broke off an 85-yard run to close the quarter.

The Red Rocketeers’ built their game-winning drive off the ensuing kickoff, chewing up more than four and a half minutes of the fourth.

Varetimos (12 of 20, 80 yards, TD; 9 carries, 31 yards, TD) broke the plane of the goal after his previous lunge from the 1-yard line was stopped.

“On that final drive, in the huddle, you could just feel the tension,” Varetimos said. “We needed to get in the end zone.”

PLANS DISRUPTED
North typically favors a north-south running game, but face serious resistance from Attleboro’s front four led by Zach Schwieger. The senior defensive end (3 tackles for loss) was a disruptive force along with linebacker Brandon Mooney.

Schwieger was named Defensive Player of the Game for his efforts along with causing a load of headaches for North’s coaching staff.

“We want to run the ball up the middle when we can, but they were bigger and stronger than us up the middle,” Red Rocketeers head coach Don Johnson said. “When we were trying to run outside, we got overpowered a little bit on the edge … We knew we had to mix the pass in there a little bit.”

A CHANGE OF PLANS


Given the way the Blue Bombardiers line controlled the line of scrimmage for portions of the game, North increasingly aired it out, leaning on Varetimos to gain yards via the play-action.

Varetimos’ 31-yarder to Jette was a result of an adjustment made by North against Attleboro’s over-pursuing linebackers.

“Their linebackers kept biting on the quick outs, like that, all game,” said Varetimos, who was named the game’s Offensive MVP.

North’s fourth-quarter drive was a valediction for an offensive group that sputtered early in the season.

That maturation as a group was spearheaded by the No. 15 (no, not that No. 15 in Denver, although there were some similarities) under center.

“We knew going in what kind of kid he was,” Johnson said of Varetimos. “He’s a tough kid, we knew he could run the ball a little bit. I think he’s grown tremendously from the beginning of the year and that’s a big reason for our success.”

Senior lineman and captain Anthony Plante had another way of looking at it, the way the unit finished their season on Thursday.

“We just had a little bit more desire to finish it,” Plante said of North’s drive to victory. “That’s what it comes down to.”

STRONG SENTIMENT


Despite learning the bad news that King Philip had triumphed over Franklin, handing the Warriors the division’s playoff spot, Johnson had strong parting words for his group.

“The fact that we’re not in the playoffs does not diminish that one bit,” Johnson said. “I feel confident that there will be other playoff teams in the state that couldn’t win a Hockomock League championship.

“I’m proud of our guys.”

Attleboro (7-4, 1-3) – 0 0 7 0 -- 7
North Attleborough (9-1, 3-1) – 0 7 0 7 -- 14

2nd quarter
North - Alex Jette 33-yard pass from Spyro Varetimos (Varetimos kick)

3rd quarter
Attleboro - Malique Clark 85-yard run (Tim Walsh kick)

4th quarter
North - Varetimos 1-yard run (Varetimos kick)

NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH, Mass. -- During Don Johnson's tenure at North, the Red Rocketeers have been a perennial Hockomock League power known for their stout defenses.

On Wednesday, Johnson opened up his defensive playbook for Brendan Hall and broke down the variations of the Red Rocketeers' blitz schemes in our latest edition of Chalk Talk:

WRENTHAM, Mass. -- Backed up against its own goal line following a botched punt return and facing a fourth-and goal situation, King Philip linebacker Nick Lussier burst through the center of the line and grabbed onto North Attleboro quarterback Spyro Varetimos for all he was worth.

He managed to hold the QB long enough to allow the wall of defenders to build up behind him, resulting in a huge stop that turned what could have been a potential disaster into the spark that changed the course of the game.

Lussier and fellow linebacker Brett McEvoy each finished with eight tackles to lead the 'D' while Charles Ruffin rushed for 147 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 23 carries as the Warriors picked up a much-needed 19-7 victory over Hockomock League Kelley-Rex Division foe North Attleboro Saturday afternoon at Macktaz Field.

"That was huge," KP head coach Brian Lee of said the goal-line stand. "Everything kind of went wrong for us in the first half and we were still able to be up 7 so I was very happy. Special teams kind of put us in a hole and I'm the special teams coach so I have nobody to blame but myself. The defense really just bailed us out there."

The No. 18 Warriors, who improved to 5-1 overall and 1-1 in the league, thought they had the No. 25 Red Rocketeers (5-1, 1-1) stopped cold just beyond midfield. KP forced NA to punt, but the ball tailed toward the sideline and bounced several times, making it difficult to field. Reid Holden recovered for the Rocketeers at the KP 7, and they pushed it close to the goal line with a pair of runs and a short pass before Lussier came up with the big stop.

"We were all saying on the defense that we don't pick the situations when we go out there," explained Lussier. "We banded together, the whole unit. We don't have one standout player, we're a unit together. And we believed in each other and we just said, 'You know what? We didn't ask for this but we've got to make the best of it' and we did. We stopped them."

That set the tone for the Warrior defense, who held North to just 20 rushing yards, and 133 yards of total offense. KP allowed nine first downs in the game, five of which came on the Rocketeers final drive against a prevent defense while trailing, 19-0.

"We weren't able to run the ball and control the clock on offense. That's what we were able to do in all our other games," NA head coach Don Johnson said. "I think after we look at the film we're probably going to walk away and say KP's defense was pretty good. I'm sure we made our share of mistakes out there but I think they made us make those mistakes."

RUFFIN PLAYING HURT
KP's star running back Charles Ruffin can't seem to catch a break when it comes to his right ankle. He originally injured it two weeks ago in a 27-26 loss to Mansfield and sat out last week's 28-13 win over Oliver Ames.

The talented senior rushed for 84 yards and a 2-yard TD in the first half, but had to leave the game for a brief spell after getting the ankle twisted on a draw play right before the break.

"Its just gonna be a labor here," said Lee on Ruffin's injury. "He's really dinged up and doing what he's supposed to do. We needed him today and he came back and played. And he knows he maybe shouldn't be playing but he's sucking it up and knows he wants to be a part of this. It killed him to not be playing last week so he wanted to get in there."

Ruffin sat out the Warriors first series of the second half, but returned in style with a 13-yard TD on a sweep around the right side and was able to grit his teeth enough to stay in the backfield and help KP eat up valuable clock time.

"Our coaches, what they have us do, they have us remember a definition called 'Accountability.' You have to have the quality state of mind to be an accountant for your team," Ruffin explained. "That's what I'm trying to through adversity for my team. I know it hurts but I gotta suck it up and have that mental toughness to go back in the game."

TIMELY PASSING HELPS
It's easy to get lost in the large shadow cast by the talented Ruffin, but the maturation and development of KP sophomore quarterback John Dillon is going to give opponents something to think about when they try to load up the box to attack the run.

Listed at 6-feet, 156 pounds, Dillon is displaying a knack for coming through with a big play when the Warriors need one. His final numbers are nothing a quick glance at the box score will get you excited about (4-for-6, 87 yards) but it was about when the completions came and what they led to that made a big difference.

In the second quarter of a scoreless game, after four straight Ruffin carries moved KP from its own 40 to the NA 32, Dillon fooled everyone by firing a quick pass over the middle to Sam McDonald, who was wide open behind the Rocketeer linebackers. The play went for 30 yards, and Ruffin went in from the two for the game's first score.

On a third-and-10 in the third quarter, Dillon executed a perfect play-action fake and connected again with McDonald for 30 yards to set his team up at the NA 30. The Warriors ultimately missed a 34-yard field goal attempt, but Dillon once again came up with a big play to keep a potential scoring drive alive.

Then in the fourth on second-and-8 at the Rocketeers 40, Dillon drilled a 22-yard pass to wideout Mike Viola. Two plays later, Ryan Dunn bulled through the middle for a 14-yard touchdown run that gave the Warriors a 19-0 lead with 8:02 remaining.

"He's a young kid back there but whenever we call on him to make plays, he's been able to do it in a tough league," Lee said in praise of Dillon. "He's playing smart and doing what we ask. Not trying to win everything but just trying to make a play when he can. He's very bright and he's played in two big games now and he's really done a great job in both of them for us."

KING PHILIP 19, NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH 7
NA (5-1) 0 0 0 7 - 7
KP (5-1) 0 7 6 6 - 19

KP - Charles Ruffin 2 run (Ryan Dunn kick)
KP - Ruffin 13 run (kick blocked)
KP - Dunn 14 run (rush failed)
NA - Wesley Nichols 1 run (Spyro Varetimos kick)

Scarborough High School graduate and defenseman Jake Rutt will play hockey at the University of Maine next season on full scholarship. Rutt, who played at St. Dominic his freshman and sophomore years, is currently playing for the New Hampshire Junior Monarchs in Hooksett, N.H. to gain a year of experience before college. He recently consented to an interview.

Q: What have you gained from your year with the Monarchs?

A: "This is my second year, and first PG year with the Monarchs, and I am very glad I did it. I've learned a lot not just about the sport but also outside the hockey rink. I have an apartment with three others on the team and learned life away from home. For next year, I feel like I will be able to jump right into Maine's lineup and be an impact player. The PG year gave me time to develop including strength, speed and my decision making on and off the ice."

Q: Did the Maine coaches think you needed another year of work? Did you?

A: "When I first committed, they told me I needed a year to develop and I understood as much as I wanted to go up to Orono and play instantly. I needed to be patient and Coach Sean Tremblay and Coach Matt Dennehy (of the Monarchs) worked on my areas of improvement to make me a more solid player."

Q: Are you taking any classes in the area, or is it strictly hockey?

A: "I will be taking a class this summer but during the season I did not. It is mostly hockey and it’s a great lifestyle. If you treat it like a job then that’s when you find you will improve the most. I also have a job near the rink at a pizza place called the Pizza Man. I am a delivery boy. So between delivering and hockey, that mostly fills up my week."

Q: What area do you think you needed to improve in the most?

A: "There's always something I can improve on because no one's game is perfect but if i had to choose one area it would probably be my decision making and this will take time. Studying other defensemen with the same attributes as me will help. The extra year with the Monarchs has helped tremendously."

Q: Why did you decide to attend Maine? Were there many other offers?

A: "I didn't hesitate when Maine offered me. Playing youth hockey in Maine, the Black Bears were always a topic of discussion around the local youth rinks and it was a dream of mine to play for my home state. At the time of my commitment, a lot of D1 schools were asking about me through Coach Tremblay, including a handful in Hockey East, but I had my mind set on Maine."

(Read full post)

NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH, Mass -- The Red Rocketeers had done their homework.

They knew No. 16 King Philip’s defense was going to blitz -- and blitz often. With that in mind, No. 13 North Attleborough used the Warriors’ aggressiveness against them to rush for 311 yards en route to a 28-14 win.

Senior co-captain and running back Dan Johnson (12 carries, 168 yards) took two second-half misdirection carries, designed to exploit an aggressive defense, and ran them both for scores. The plays turned what was a tied game into a commanding two-touchdown Red Rocketeer lead.

“They were running all over the place,” said Johnson of the Warriors' defense, whose blitz scheme helped make them one of the state’s best. They allowed just 6.1 points per game before Saturday. “They were blitzing and sending guys everywhere. They were jumping all over the first look so we used a little counter action and that opened everything up.”

After King Philip (7-2) had tied the game at 14 with 2:30 left in the third quarter, North Attleborough (9-1) responded with a 72-yard drive punctuated by Johnson’s first touchdown run from 26 yards out. The series took five plays. All runs.

The Red Rocketeers forced a King Philip turnover on downs to start the fourth quarter, and a minute and a half later, Johnson (12 carries, 168 yards) was in the endzone again. This time he took a counter handoff up the middle and outran the Warriors defense for 71 yards to pay dirt. It was the same play as what had been called in the huddle for Johnson’s first score.

“Especially against a team that blitzes like that, if you can seal everybody down and don’t get any penetration on the inside, you have the potential for it to be a big play,” said North Attleborough coach Don Johnson. “It’s one of those, you’re either going to gain 10 or 20, or you’re going to lose 10.”

King Philip was down 14-0 late in the second quarter after Red Rocketeers quarterback Paul McCarthy (4-7, 53 yards; 15 carries, 108 yards) ran for a touchdown in the first quarter and threw for another to Ryan Flannery (2 catches, 34 yards) in the second. But the Warriors found some life when coach Brian Lee reached into his bag of tricks with just seconds remaining in the first half.

Warriors quarterback Jake Cox (11-17, 131 yards) led his team down the field with just under two minutes to play in the first half, leaving King Philip a 25-yard field goal try before halftime. But instead, Lee called for a field goal fake. Cox received the ball as the place-kick holder, and threw to Jim Johnston (3 catches, 39 yards), who plowed across the goal line from eight yards out to cut North Attleborough’s lead in half.

King Philip had momentum going into the third quarter as it recovered a McCarthy fumble and drove 49 yards to tie the game on a Charles Ruffin (15 carries, 83 yards) 16-yard touchdown carry.

The Red Rocketeers never relinquished the lead, however. Johnson took the first of his two touchdown carries on the ensuing North Attleborough drive.

“They answered,” said Lee. “That’s what a good team does. We had flashes but you have to be consistent against the top programs.”

The Red Rocketeers forced two turnovers on downs in the fourth quarter to stop any potential Warriors comeback.

“We learned a little lesson against Mansfield [two weeks ago],” said Don Johnson. “They converted five fourth downs against us. We didn’t come up with the big play when we need it. Today it was different. Today we came up with those big plays.”

North Attleborough 28, King Philip 14

NA – 7 7 7 7 – 28
KP – 0 7 7 0 – 14


First quarter
NA - McCarthy 6 run (Zach Horton kick)

Second quarter
NA – McCarthy 21 pass to Flannery (Horton kick)
KP – Cox 8 pass to Johnston (Nick Muscatiello kick)

Third quarter
KP – Ruffin 16 run (Muscatiello kick)
NA – Johnson 26 run (Horton kick)

Fourth quarter
NA – Johnson 71 run (Horton kick)

NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH, Mass. – At the time, Joe Oram’s tackle looked like a game-saver.

When No. 5 Mansfield added a final-minute touchdown, giving the Hornets their final margin of victory at 24-15, it only distorted the importance of Oram’s stop while providing further clarity to what could have been a photo finish.

“I’m glad I didn’t have to deal with that scenario,” Mansfield head coach Mike Redding said. “If they score and tie up with two minutes to go, then I’m thinking, do we go for it or do you play it safe. I’m glad it didn’t have to come down to that.”

North Attleborough was two points down with 2:07 to play, after Dan Johnson broke left into the flat and hit Ryan Flannery with a 7-yard touchdown pass on a halfback option. Leading up to the ensuing two-point try, both Redding and Red Rocketeers head coach Don Johnson played each other’s bluff in aligning their squads. When No. 10 North Attleborough broke the huddle, the play call was for a run, a keeper for quarterback Paul McCarthy. His lane up the middle collapsed, so he bounced to the outside in an effort to find space.

There he was met by Oram, who drove McCarthy back short of the goal line and, in effect, put the Hornets in control to win the Hockomock League title this season.

“He was running inside on the dive, but Kyle McGuire came down and plugged the hole,” Oram said. “When he bounced it outside, I just met him at the line and drove him back.”

The linebacker continued, “This win is just huge. It means a lot to us.”

Mansfield (7-1, 6-0) still had to finish the win by recovering an on-side kick attempt following the missed two-point play. It looked as though the Red Rocketeers (7-1, 5-1) might force a punt and get the ball back again, holding the Hornets to a third-and-seven. But George Busharis hit Jamel Marshall for a crushing 17-yard pickup on a throw to the flat.

Two plays later, Greg Donahue added a point of emphasis with a 28-yard touchdown run.

“I think the difference was, and it happened in both halves, they won on third down,” the elder Johnson said. “We played great defense on first and 10 and, then beyond that, we struggled.”

Mansfield broke the defensive maelstrom in the second quarter, when Jeff Hill used every inch of his 6-foot-4 frame to come down with an 18-yard score from Busharis. Dave Eberhart added a 23-yard field goal later in the second stanza for a 10-0 Hornet lead.

North Attleborough got back three points just before the half on Zach Horton’ 22-yard field goal as time expired.

Big Red found greater offensive consistency in the second half, when McCarthy tested Mansfield with his arm (11 of 22, 131 yards) and his feet (8 carries, 63 yards).

“I thought we were able to mix it up,” Johnson said of the Red Rocketeers offense in the second half. “We kept finding ourselves in long-yardage situations early. We kind of got stuck where we had to throw a little too much. We were able to run the ball a little inside and then that opened up the outside, then we could pass on other downs.”

McCarthy hit Brady Shorey on a perfectly executed screen pass for a 51-yard touchdown with 44 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

The Hornets answered with a plodding 12-play, 6:40 drive that culminated in a 5-yard touchdown by Marshall, who carried the ball on seven of those plays while finishing the game with 25 carries for 159 yards.

North Attleborough bounced back with a score of its own, on the halfback option play from Dan Johnson. Redding was prepared for trick play, but didn’t quite have the particulars down.

“We’d talked about Donny’s [Johnson] son throwing, [but] we though he was right-handed,” Redding said. “He’s actually left-handed, so going left and throwing, we covered him pretty well, but it was a great catch by Flannery.”

Then, it was left to Oram’s anticipation.

Mansfield was determined not to let McCarthy beat them and wanted to neutralize his top target, Flannery.

“I think when they saw us in that defense, they went to the run,” Redding said, “and fortunately, that weak-side blitz caused some penetration. That made the difference.”

No. 5 Mansfield 0 10 0 14 -- 24
No. 10 North Attleborough 0 3 6 6 -- 15

Second quarter
Mansfield Jeff Hill 18-yard pass from George Busharis (Dave Eberhart kick)
Mansfield Dave Eberhart 23-yard field goal
North Attleborough Zach Horton 22-yard field goal

Third quarter
North Attleborough Brady Shorey 51-yard pass from Paul McCarthy (kick blocked)

Fourth quarter
Mansfield Jamel Marshall 5-yard run (Eberhart kick)
North Attleborough Ryan Flannery 7-yard pass from Dan Johnson (rush failed)
Mansfield Greg Donahue 28-yard run (Eberhart kick)

It’s Monday again and the weekend seemed to whiz by quicker than James Toney’s chances against Randy Couture in the Octagon. And that means it’s time for another "10 off the top".

The kickoff to high school football scrimmages on Saturday was a reminder that games aren’t too far away (with T-minus 11 days until teams do it for real).

With that, let’s get into another edition of the best and brightest from all points to kick the week off right:

THE BAND IS ON THE FIELD
10. You may have already read in this space that St. John’s (Shrewsbury) phenom Richard Rodgers has decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a Cal Bear. ESPNBoston.com High Schools correspondent and Scouts, Inc. blogger Roger Brown had more about it on his recruiting blog and caught up with Rodgers, who talked about his decision.

HITTING THE LINKS
A roundup of links from around the region from the “in case you missed it” dept.

9. Danny Ventura had a nice story on the return of West Roxbury legend Leo Sybertz.

8. The Eagle-Tribune posted its Merrimack Valley Conference preview.

7. Peter Gobis of The Sun Chronicle tracked down former North Attleborough star Anthony Sherman.

6. Carolyn Thornton of The Providence Journal reported that the RIIL will not copy its boys’ basketball statewide tournament format in girls’ basketball.

5. Basketball is still some time away, but Adam Finkelstein of the New England Recruiting Report — who will also be bringing some of his insights to our site during the winter — is always on the job and posted his rankings for the New Hampshire Class of 2012.

4. One more basketball-related item … Alex Murphy of St. Mark’s was tracked down by TheShiver.com, a Kansas recruiting site, at the Boost Mobile Elite 24 in Venice Beach, Calif.

3. We also kicked off our first in a series of team capsules for our MIAA preseason Top 25 football teams with correspondent Neil Carroll making a stop at No. 25 Lynn English. We’ll have previews for No. 24 Holliston and No. 23 North Attleborough later in the day.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
2. North Attleborough football head coach Don Johnson on BC High’s defensive line after Saturday’s tri-scrimmage: "Man, they're big. I wish we could have a couple of those guys.”

SURPRISE, SURPRISE
1. One more item from North Attleboro and the Hockomock. When I asked Johnson who he thought might be a surprise team to watch out for in the always competitive Hock, he had this to say: “I think that would be Oliver Ames. Their junior varsity team has been playing well for the last couple of years. They could really sneak up on some people.”