CHS football ends long losing skid vs. Foxboro

Johnny Hagan was a force in Friday night’s memorable win over Foxboro. (Josh Perry/HockomockSports.com)

They had been knocking on the door over the past few seasons, and finally, after 25 consecutive losses to the Foxboro Warriors, the Bulldogs emerged victorious, dominating their longtime foes 43-20 at Jack Martinelli Field Friday night.

The convincing win was Canton’s fourth in a row on the road this season and second in as many games against Davenport Division opponents. The Bulldogs last beat Foxboro in 1990, and its last road win against the Warriors came in 1987.

CHS now begins a stretch of three consecutive home games against league competition, starting this Friday night at 7 p.m. against Stoughton. Projecting ahead, the game to decide the Davenport Division crown could be October 19 against now 3-1 North Attleboro, currently the 10th ranked team in the Boston Globe Top 20.

Canton clearly outran and out-defended the Warriors last Friday as Foxboro could not stop Canton junior quarterback Johnny Hagan, who ran for 162 yards and a touchdown and passed for two more on long bombs to receiver Jace Emma. Hagan constantly found holes through the defense and his rushing totals included long runs of 40, 28, 18, and 31 yards.

Junior runner-receiver Kyle Fitzgerald rushed for 73 yards and two touchdowns and also contributed seven tackles on defense.

Junior secondary man David Allen was solid on defense, intercepting a pass, breaking up two others, and making four tackles while also handling the team’s punting duties.

Standout linebacker Brendan Albert led the team in tackles with 10, including several on special teams. He also assisted as a blocker on the offensive line and rushed for two yards.

Canton recorded one sack on a combined defensive effort by Ben Seaman, Robbie Gallery and James Murphy. Gallery’s fumble recovery and long runback came from a ferocious defensive line pressure on the Foxboro quarterback.

Canton scored first on a 75-yard bomb from Hagan to Emma and led at the end of the first quarter 14-7. The lead extended to 30-14 by the end of the third quarter as the Bulldogs dominated the Warrior defense, controlling the ball on the ground for 9:40 of the 11-minute period. The rushing attack of Hagan, Fitzgerald, and Gersom Rivera (64 yards) along with Albert combined for 301 yards on the ground.

An elated CHS football coach Dave Bohane said after the game that he would have been pleased with a 3-1 record after four consecutive road games to start the season. “I am so proud of the team and our staff for this unbelievable start,” he said. “This really puts us in great shape and we look forward to our first home game Friday night. We had great support tonight from the Canton people who came to the game and I know the Canton football community who read the news every weekend will be very proud to read what we did tonight.”

Bohane added it was a tremendous team win but did single out the play of Hagan, who he called a “very special player,” and Allen, who is utilizing his size and speed to excel at defensive back. Bohane also praised the improvement of the offensive line, anchored by Lucas Bryant and also including Brian Campagna, Derrell Brown, George Kent, and Matt Connolly.

Albert, one of four team captains, summed up the meaningful win against Foxboro. “No one expected us to be undefeated, but here we are,” he said. “Foxboro is a tough team. But so are we and we played harder and tougher tonight.”

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Posted by Mike Berger on Oct 4 2018. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.