Stoughton High Football Goes for 3-0 Start in Home Opener vs. Pembroke

With the Stoughton High football team's 22-0 win over Taunton last Friday, Stoughton Patch will look at some key factors contributing to the win and look ahead to this Friday's contest, the home-opener against Pembroke at 7 p.m.

1. Quarterback play - After throwing the ball just four times at Holliston, senior quarterback Danny Eckler was 5/8 for 134 yards and a touchdown at Taunton, showing his ability to find the open man and light up the opponent's defense, gaining huge chunks of yardage at a time. Eckler had big completions to Aaron Mack and Andrew Valle gaining 66 and 35 yards respectively.

2. Offensive line - The Black Knight offensive line had another big day against Taunton drawing numerous offsides penalties. Coach Greg Burke also praised the unit for its pass blocking. The run blocking was sound as the Stoughton ground game also gained around 200 yards.  The line - lead by senior captain Adam Leonard, along with Joey Wilder, Pat Raeke, Tim Porter and Dominic Evangelista - is a game changer for the Knights who always seem to find a way to capitalize on this group's stellar play.

3. Running game - The ground attack continues to carry this Knights offense. Led by seniors Aaron Mack and Frankie Morris, along with junior Malachi Baugh, the running game continues to push the Stoughton offense down the field setting up Eckler and the passing game. The trio of Mack, Morris and Baugh posted close to 200 yards against Taunton with 101 coming from Baugh.

4. Can Stoughton stay consistent? - With Stoughton's fast start the Knights will look to put in a consistent effort every time on the field, something that has haunted them in past years. If the Knights can put in a full 44 minute effort every time out, they should be the favorite in the Davenport Division.

5. Can Stoughton compete with a playoff caliber team? - Stoughton was up to the task in week 1 at Holliston, a 2011 Division 3 playoff team, coming away with a 28-13 win. Now Pembroke (1-0) comes to Stoughton Friday night in week 3, having made a run in the Division 3 MIAA tournament last year. Although this game will mean nothing to Stoughton's playoff hopes (which rest on the outcome of the Hockomock League's Davenport Division games), it will be a good measuring stick for where exactly the Knights stand after a little more than a quarter of the season.

Click here to read a full recap of the Stoughton/Taunton game

Click here to read a full recap of Pembroke's last game

Can't make it to Friday's game vs. Pembroke? You can follow all the action right on Stoughton Patch with our live blog.

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Stoughton Patch editor Jeffrey Pickette contributed reporting.