Alves to Represent Stoughton High at Shriners Football Classic

A senior captain for the , defensive leader manning the interior line, and , Brandon Alves will represent the Black Knights this Friday, June 15 at the 34th Shriners Football Classic.

The Shriners All-Star game, played at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots, features 100 top high school football players from Eastern Massachusetts.

Alves, who graduated on June 7 with the , played both offensive and defensive line for the Black Knights in his senior season and will play on the defensive line for the Shriners squad.

"It feels incredible to put the pads back on," Alves said. "It feels like a dream come true putting that Stoughton High School helmet back on."

Teams are divided into North and South All-Star squads. Alves will suit up for the South team.

The two rosters feature players from 69 high schools in eastern Massachusetts, including six Hockomock League Schools (Stoughton, Oliver Ames, Franklin, Mansfield, King Philip and North Attleboro). Alves is one of nine Hockomock League players on the South roster.

Alves, a native of Cape Verde before moving to the U.S. prior to high school, never played football before his freshman year.

But by sophomore year he made the varsity squad. As a senior he and classmate Andrew Paredes were standouts, playing on the interior defensive line.

“There wasn’t two guys in the state who could block these two guys all day," Coach Greg Burke said after this past Thanksgiving.

Alves had three sacks in that game, helping Stoughton to its seventh straight Thanksgiving win over Canton. The victory also gave Stoughton a 6-5 record, the team's first winning mark since 2006.

Despite his dominance in the 2011 Thanksgiving game, it was the 2010 Thanksgiving showdown Alves remembers most, a .

Alves scored the game's opening touchdown on a fumble recovery.

"I will never forget the touchdown against Canton my junior year," he said. "It was just an unbelievable moment."

Now Alves has one more chance to play football as a high schooler, and the game is played at the home of the three-time Super Bowl champion Patriots nonetheless.

"There's no words for that. I wish I could have gone with my team, but that didn't happen, but at least I'm going there right now," he said. "It's a great experience."

The All-Star game is a fundraiser for the Shriners Hospitals for Children, an international pediatric specialty health care system, according to a press release.

Kickoff at Gillette is Friday at 7 p.m.

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General Admission tickets are $15 and can be purchased through the Aleppo Shriners (978-657-4202 ext. 20), at the Gillette Stadium Ticket Office, at any Ticketmaster outlet or at www.ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000. Tickets also will be available day of game at the Gillette Stadium Ticket Office. All ticket proceeds benefit the Shriners Hospitals for Children.

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