Stoughton Football Team Falls Short in Bowl Bid

The Stoughton High football team looked like they had some more playoff magic left in them, but unfortunately, the Black Knights came up a little short, losing to Plymouth South, 14-12, in the Division 3 semifinal at Brockton's Marciano Stadium Friday night.
Plymouth South will be moving on to play in the Division 3 Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium Dec. 7. The Panthers will be facing the winner of Saturday's Tewksbury-Melrose game
Stoughton (9-2) had a magical run through the postseason, beating Hingham on a goal line stand and kicking a field goal to beat Oliver Ames.
And it looked they had one more big finish in their bag.
Unfortunately for the Black Knights. the Panthers' Anthony Schena intercepted a pass from Stoughton talented sophomore quarterback Jake Gibb at around the 10 yard line and the Panthers were able to run out the clock.
"Going to the Super Bowl." said Plymouth South head coach Scott Frye. "I like the sound of that."
A year ago, Plymouth South lost to Natick in the playoffs.
"Congratulations to Plymouth South," said Burke. " I'm happy for them and I'm happy for us."
Burke has become a fan of the Panthers.
'"I'm pleased for Scotty (Frye), " said Burke. "He's a great guy and he has great, tough kids. I don't mind losing to guy like him." 
On their final drive, the Black Knights started out at their own 30 yard line with 2:04 left in the game.
Gibb came up with a big 11-yard pass to Kevin MacDonald on a fourth down and eight and then it hit Green on another fourth down pass play to the Plymouth South 39 yard line. A pass inference call gave the Black Knights the ball on the Panther 25-yard line.
"To be honest with you, we were going to have the spike the ball and rush the field goal team on to the field," said Burke. "It's a tough call."
Throughout the playoffs, the sophomore quarterback showed he is very cool under pressure.
"Gibb is going to be terrific," said Burke.
Neither team was able to score in the second half as the defenses dominated on the both sides. It turned out to be a game of field possession and punting.
"I thought one team was going to score," said Burke.
In the big defensive play of the first half, Stoughton's Brian Crimmins flew throughout the Panther offensive line, knocking down Plymouth South's standout running back Dylan Oxsen, and forcing a fumble.
When the Black Knights got the ball back, they turned into a scoring opportunity. Gibb threw a swing pass to Joe Girolamo, who caught the ball and broke through the South defense for a 37-yard score.
Stoughton attempted a two-point conversion, but the rush failed, making it 14-12 at the half.
Stoughton's points came after Plymouth South jumped to a 14-0 lead.
After falling behind 14-0, Gibb hit a streaking Lennox Green for a 15-yard to cut the margin to 14-6 as the extra-point kick failed.
On their second drive of the game, Oxsen broke through the Stoughton defense for a 29-yard score. Andrew Shortall kicked the extra-point for a 7-0 lead.
"(Oxsen), you have to get hands on him," said Burke. "He's a horse."
In the second quarter, Oxsen scored his second touchdown on a five yard run against the tough Stoughton goal line defense.
"I know it's the Dylan Oxsen show every time he steps on to the field," said Frye, "but our interior line did a great job."
Plymouth South will play Plymouth North in their annual Thanksgiving Day game, but all their thoughts are focused on Gillette Stadium.
The Black Knights are going to take Saturday off and then get right back to preparing for Canton.
"I'm happy for our kids and the town," said Burke. "Hopefully, we can get back to our winning ways on Thanksgiving (at Canton)."