Mack, Middleton to Represent Stoughton High at Shriners Football Classic

Senior standouts for the Stoughton High football team and Hockomock League football All-Stars, recent SHS graduates Marcus Middleton and Aaron Mack will represent the Black Knights this Saturday, June 22 at the 35th Shriners Football Classic.

The Shriners All-Star game, played this year at Bentley University in Waltham, features about 100 top high school football players from Eastern Massachusetts.

"When I got that letter from coach Burke telling me I made it, I couldn't explain the feeling, the excitement, the honor," Middleton said. "This is a great opportunity."

Mack added, "They keep on saying you have to be [among] the best players in the state and I feel like Marcus and I both really stepped up our game this year and last year to prove ourselves to be one of the two best players in the state."

Middleton and Mack both graduated on June 6 with the SHS Class of 2013. Both three sport athletes at SHS (football, basketball and track), they were versatile on the football field as well, with Middleton (receiver, defensive back) and Mack (running back, defensive back) both top performers on offense and defense. 

In the Shriners game, however, they will play on just one side of the ball - Middleton on offense at receiver, and Mack on defense at safety.

"It's funny going against each other in practice," Middleton said.
"Usually we were taking the same reps on the same side of the ball [playing for SHS]," Mack said. 

Need proof of the impact either Middleton or Mack can have on a game? Look no further than Stoughton's 25-21 road win over Division 1A opponent Bridgewater-Raynham this past season on November 9.

Middleton returned the opening kick of the second half 90 yards for a touchdown, and added 90 yards rushing, 25 yards receiving and an interception on defense. Mack had 95 yards receiving (all on one drive), 25 yards rushing and scored two touchdowns.

"I'm very happy for them; they're well deserving," Stoughton head coach Greg Burke said of Middleton and Mack's selection to the Shriners team. 

"This is what you can get if you work hard and study hard," Burke added.

Shriners participants are divided into North and South All-Star squads. Middleton and Mack will suit up for the South team. 

The South team is coached by Dave Bohane of Canton High. Shawn Tarpey of East Bridgewater, a 1994 SHS graduate, is one of the assistants. 

"To have Shawn coaching is another feather in our cap," Burke said. "He coached with us for years and he's an old Black Knight."

The two rosters feature players from high schools across eastern Massachusetts, including nine Hockomock League Schools (Stoughton, Oliver Ames, Sharon, Canton, Foxborough, Franklin, Mansfield, King Philip and North Attleboro).

Middleton and Mack are two of 13 Hockomock League players on the South roster.

"You bond together when you play football, and now I'm playing with people we used to play against, and now I feel like they are part of my team, they're my brothers," Middleton said.

Middleton and Mack started playing football in the STOYAC program in the third grade. Middleton was a running back back then. Mack was a center, quipping that he was the "fastest center you'll ever meet." 

Now after a successful career at Stoughton High, capped by this season's emotional 9-2 campaign, they will get to play in one more football game as a high schooler. 

Mack will be going on to play football at East Coast Prep in Great Barrington, Mass. next year to improve his chances at landing at a Division1 college football program. Middleton, , will be going to WPI to play hoops. 

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

"The Shriners game is so important. They raise an incredible amount of money for the Shriners Hospital, which is just an incredible place," Burke said. 

Kickoff is Saturday at 4 p.m. at Bentley University. Tickets, which can be purchased the day of the game, are $15. All of the proceeds help support Shriners Hospitals For Children.

"It's a great honor to be a part of the Stoughton alumni who were able to play in this game," Mack said. "It's a great honor to play with Marcus.

"Being able to play in this great [game] with one of my close friends that I've been growing up playing football with since I was little is just a great opportunity," Middleton added. "To be able to represent Stoughton is just an honor."