Bishop Stang stands tall in season-opening win over Roxbury

NEW BEDFORD — At first glance, Roxbury’s sheer stature should have worried the Spartans.

But Bishop Stang showed no signs of being intimidated by the physically imposing team from Roxbury Prep during a surprisingly easy 36-8 drubbing on Saturday afternoon at McCoy Field in New Bedford.

“They certainly had size, but we played our hearts out,” said senior linebacker Joe Paulo. “We got low and we were tough.”

Taking the field for the first play, the Spartans almost looked like a JV team as they were dwarfed by Roxbury’s offensive line, but after the Stang defense pushed Roxbury back seven yards on the game’s first three plays, it was obvious the Spartans were up to the task.

“It built a lot of momentum,” Paulo said. “The defense really ate that up. It set the tone for the rest of the game.”

Using leverage and getting low, Stang controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, holding Roxbury to just 28 rushing yards and one first down before the final play of the third quarter, when the Spartans emptied their bench to get an extended look at their second string.

“I think coach (Joe) Paulo and coach (Nate) Sobral have been doing a nice job with our line getting their pad level low and their feet wide,” head coach Dennis Golden said. “Our kids were having some success with that today. I think scrimmaging Fairhaven and New Bedford and Apponequet was good preparation for us. They’re good teams and it helped.”

While the defense did its job, the Spartans were able to run the ball effectively, chewing up 187 yards on the ground and taking advantage of a series of short fields due to a significant special teams advantage.

“Our offensive line did a phenomenal job,” Stang’s senior quarterback Andrew DiGiammo said. “The holes were huge. After I handed the ball off and carried through my fake I saw open field. Each man was driving them off the ball and following their assignments.”

Meanwhile, Stang’s defense, led by linebacker Joe Paulo, held Roxbury to a mere 17 rushing yards on 20 carries in the first half, and thanks to a three-touchdown second quarter, the Spartans were firmly in the lead for the remainder of the game. All told, Roxbury had just 108 yards of offense and was forced to punt seven times.

“The most important thing was our assignments,” Paulo said. “We keyed the right guys and made tackles.”

Stang was also aided by starting with the ball in Roxbury territory on seven of its 10 possessions. That allowed the Spartans to score five times, with five different players, despite finishing with just 231 yards of offense.

“I didn’t plan it that way, but if we have a lot of guys contributing, then that’s really good,” Golden said. “That helps us to be a balanced team.”

The offense was led admirably DiGiammo, whose second varsity pass was a 21-yard touchdown throw to sophomore Greg Morales, one of the three players competing in a preseason quarterback battle. At the time, Golden said that all three, which included junior Dylan Aguiar, would see plenty of playing time, even if it wasn’t under center, and that proved true as all three scored a touchdown on Saturday.

“He has some savvy,” Golden said of DiGiammo. “He’s got a good mind for it and he’s a pretty good athlete, too. He’s a darn good athlete and he’s worked really hard. We had three quarterbacks who worked really hard all summer. ... Andrew came out on top after camp and he’s doing a nice job now.”

DiGiammo admitted to some butterflies in his stomach before his first varsity snap under center — a 25-yard scamper by Frankie Hernandez-Manon — but he finished 3-of-5 passing for 44 yards and a score. His touchdown pass showed nice touch and accuracy on an arcing deep ball down the left sideline.

“It was great, I had confidence in my team,” DiGiammo said after adding 17 rushing yards and a score. “We had a streak on the outside. Everyone on our offensive line, they followed their assignments and gave me time. I dropped back, threw the ball and he caught it. It was great.”

DiGiammo credited his preparedness from learning under Standard-Times Offensive Player of the Year Justin Lopes last season.

“It was amazing to study under Lopes the last few years,” he said. “He did everything the right way — how he acted and how he played. This is what I’ve been waiting for.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

After a scoreless first quarter that saw the Spartans lose two fumbles inside Roxbury’s 20, Stang got the ball with a short field (21 yards) early in the second quarter and DiGiammo hit Morales for the game’s first score on the first play of the possession.

After a Roxbury three-and-out —they had seven of them on the day —Stang got the ball back and drove 77 yards on just five plays, highlighted by a 38-yard scamper by Jake Figueiredo, capping the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run up the middle by Griffin Ferreira. Ferreira’s two-point conversion made it 14-0 Spartans midway through the second quarter.

Stang needed to go just 37 yards on its next possession, with DiGiammo following his center in from less than a yard out on a touchdown set up by a 14-yard pass to Morales and a 16-yard run from Hernandez-Manon.

The Spartans took a 22-0 lead into halftime, then scored on their first possession of the third quarter when Hernandez-Manon raced to the pylon on an 11-yard jaunt. Aguiar replaced DiGiammo at quarterback for the next possession and he wrapped up Stang’s scoring with a 2-yard sneak with just under five minutes left in the quarter.

Against Stang’s second string, Roxbury finally put together an 82-yard drive in the fourth quarter, scoring with 4:29 remaining in regulation and picking up five of its six first downs in the game.

HOME GAME ON THE ROAD

Due to overnight rain, the game was moved from 11 a.m. at Bishop Stang to 1 p.m. at New Bedford High’s McCoy Field. By gametime it was perfect football weather, with blue skies, sunshine and a stiff breeze.

“It was really nice for New Bedford to let us have our game here,” Golden said. “We appreciate them and we appreciate our fans for coming out.”

TILTED FIELD

Due to inequities in special teams and an early advantage Roxbury could never flip, Stang had complete control of field possession. The Spartans started with the ball on Roxbury’s side of the field seven times in 10 possessions, including three times inside the 30. Roxbury, meanwhile, started nine of its 10 possessions inside its own 33. By comparison, Stang started a drive inside its own 39 just once.

NEWS AND NOTES

Bishop Stang’s Dylan Aguiar had a sack in the fourth quarter. ... Stang finished with 10 first downs. ... Entering the fourth quarter, Roxbury’s lead back, Smith, had just three yards on 11 carries.

SCORING

First quarter

None

Second quarter

BS: Greg Morales 21 pass from Andrew DiGiammo (pass failed), 9:54

BS: Griffin Ferreira 7 run (Ferreira run), 5:56

BS: Andrew GiGiammo 1 run (Jacob Figueiredo run), 0:55

Third quarter

BS: Frankie Hernandez-Manon 11 run (Figueiredo run), 9:04

BS: Dylan Aguiar 2 run (run failed), 4:30

Fourth quarter

R: No. 80 3 run (Elijah DeRosa-Hampton run), 4:29

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — BS: Jacob Figueiredo 8-79, Frankie Hernandez-Manon 6-54-1, Andrew DiGiammo 5-30-1, Dylan Aguiar 3-17-1, Nick Hyland 1-9, Griffin Ferreira 2-5-1, Isaiah Texeira 2-(-2), Conor Lally 2-(-5); R: Jamoni Waller 6-35, Dy’riece Smith 13-34, Elijah DeRosa-Hampton 6-19, No. 80 6-9-1

Passing — BS: Andrew DiGiammo 3-5-44-1; R: Jamoni Waller 1-6-8

Receiving — BS: Greg Morales 2-35-1, Griffin Ferreira 1-11; R: Dy’riece Smith 1-8