As they walked off the field Thursday night after a 42-0 loss to North Attleborough in the Division 3 state tournament, Plymouth South football players learned they still have a long way to go if they want to get to the top of the division.
“If we want to contend for a state championship, we’ve got to look at those kids we were playing against tonight,” Plymouth South head coach Darren Fruzzetti said after the game. “They were bigger, faster, and stronger than we were tonight.”
The Red Rocketeers (7-2) gained chunks of yards with every carry thanks to a punishing running game and hit on a few big plays in the passing game when needed. They found the end zone every time they had the football in the first half to lead 35-0 at the break and then scored again on the opening possession of the third quarter.
Plymouth South had two potential scoring drives stall inside North Attleborough’s red zone. Sophomore Brenton Cozzone caught a 41-yard pass from quarterback Cam Horvath in the closing minute of the first half, but a fumble on the next play was recovered by North Attleborough senior Nick O’Brien for a 90-yard scoop and score.
The Panthers got to the goal line again in the closing seconds of the game and were setting up for one last shot at the end zone as time expired.
“Games like this are won in January, February, March, April, and May,” Fruzzetti said. “The challenge for our kids is to do that kind of work in the offseason and get bigger, faster, stronger.”
The offseason Fruzzetti mentioned is still two games away. Plymouth South will play a non-playoff game scheduled by the MIAA (to be opponent announced Sunday) next week and then place all its focus on Plymouth North for the traditional Thanksgiving morning game.
After playing it at Fenway Park last year, the Panthers will be at Plymouth North this time with a 10 a.m. kickoff.
Cozzone and senior captain Brayden McNulty promised the Panthers will be ready for both of the remaining games as they look to end the year on a high note, and, in Cozzone’s case, start laying the foundation for a return to the state tournament in 2027.
“We worked our tails off to get here, but this wasn’t our year. Things didn’t go the way we wanted tonight,” McNulty said. “We can’t cry over the spilled milk. We’ve got to focus on these next two games and hopefully end it with a ‘W’ on Thanksgiving.”
“I know everyone gave it their all tonight. The game showed the underclassmen and juniors about the work we still have in front of us,” said Cozzone. “We’ll learn from this game and be better from the experience.”
North Attleborough got two touchdowns each from Joseph Ruggiero and O’Brien. Milo House and Nathaniel Robin added rushing touchdowns in the victory. The Red Rocketeers will now get ready for the winner of Friday night’s game between No. 3 Marshfield and No.14 Silver Lake.
David Wolcott can be reached at dwolcott@plymouthindependent.org.