Stoughton Patch Football Friday: This Tackle Has a Nose for the Ball

When the Stoughton High School football team puts together their season highlight film, there will be plenty of clips to choose from.
Just to name a few:
There will be Malachi Baugh's video game-type touchdown run against Milford.
There will be the Black Knights' defensive stop at the 1-inch line against Hingham in the playoffs.
There will be Jovani Pires' fingertip interception against Foxborough.
There will be any one of Lennox Green's kickoff returns or Joey Girolamo's runs against Milton.
And last Friday night, senior defensive lineman Frank Girolamo got himself a spot on the highlight.
With Hopkinton driving for a touchdown in the second quarter, Frank Girolamo got through the Hilliers' offensive line, tackling running back, while quarterback Pat Ryan was attempting to hand off the ball. He was able to strip the ball and then recovering a fumble at the 4-yard line.
Stoughton defeated Hopkinton, 33-6, last Friday in the Division 3 South Semifinals, and will be playing Oliver Ames in the finals Friday, at 7 p.m.
"The running back and quarterback were right next to each other," said Frank Girolamo. "I hit the running back and realized my hands were in position to get the ball."
Scoring against the Black Knights on the goal line hasn't been easy for opponents, especially in the playoffs. As time ran out in their first playoff game, the Black Knights stopped Hingham on the 1-inch line for a 14-7 win.
"That was two weeks in a row," said Stoughton head coach Greg Burke. "We practice that 30 or 40 snaps.  It's hard to stimulate what other teams are doing."
At nose tackle, Girolamo, at 5' 8", 240 pounds, is really hard to move off the ball.
"We're all big kids and our smallest kid is 220," said Frank Girolamo. "That's the best strongest point of our defense."
Frank Girolamo also recovered an onside kick for the Black Knights.
"Frankie is as tough as nails strength-wise," said Stoughton High head coach Greg Burke. "Nobody is tougher than those guys (Frank and Joey)."

Ready for Oliver Ames Rematch
Since they lost to the Tigers in the regular season, Oliver Ames has been on the Black Knights' mind.
"We didn't play well against them," said Burke. "Hopefully, we'll play better."
It turned out to be the worst game of the year for the Black Knights, who suffered their only loss, 35-6. OA got out to an early lead and Stoughton could catch up.The 8-0 Tigers won the Davenport Division with the win over Stoughton and defeated longtime rival North Attleboro, 27-13, last week. OA was the top seed going into the playoffs, while Stoughton was second.
The Black Knights are going to have to stop OA quarterback Nick Cidado and running back Matt Berksza, who hurt them in the first meeting.
"It's going to be tough," said Burke. "That's how it should be. I guarantee we will show up."
Since playing Oliver Ames, the Black Knights have been hit with injuries, including losing Baugh to a season-ending leg injury.
Last week, they lost one of the key linemen, Tim Porter, who is on the sideline with mononucleosis.Burke doesn't want that to be an excuse going into the Oliver Ames game.
"Everyone has (injuries), so I'm not going to complain," said Burke. "We just have to get through it."