Taunton Daily Gazette

Find everything you need for the 2024 Greater Taunton-area high school football season

By Cameron Merritt, The Taunton Daily Gazette,

12 hours ago

The bright lights and the sounds of whistles, hits and catches coming off the gridiron can only mean one thing: the 2024 high school football season is upon us in the Greater Taunton area.

On this page, you'll find all of the Taunton Daily Gazette and other Gannett outlets' coverage of all four Greater Taunton area football teams, as well as schedules, results and more that will be updated throughout the season.

Last year , Taunton (6-5, 2-3 Hockomock Kelley-Rex) was the top team locally, going on a three-game winning streak and being the area's sole representative in the postseason. Bridgewater-Raynham (4-7, 2-1 Southeast Conference) bounced back from a slow start to win its final three games while Bristol-Plymouth (3-8, 0-4 Mayflower Large) played a largely young squad under the lights of Taunton High's Aleixo "Tiger" Stadium. Dighton-Rehoboth (3-7, 0-4 South Coast Blue), with just 38 players in the program, still competed and had their biggest win on Thanksgiving against rivals Seekonk.

With new coaches at Bridgewater-Raynham and Bristol-Plymouth , a new co-op for Dighton-Rehoboth/Bristol Aggie and 10 of the 12 2023 Taunton Daily Gazette Football All-Scholastics having graduated, there will be plenty of new sights and faces on local gridirons this fall.

2024 Preseason

Taunton

Coach: Brad Sidwell

2023 record: 6-5 (2-3 Hockomock Kelley-Rex)

2024 outlook: The Tigers graduated 22 players and lost another to a transfer, but return one of the best quarterbacks in the Hockomock in junior Dylan Keenan. After a strong debut campaign with a core of senior targets, Keenan will now work to build new connections with a slew of junior and senior receivers while also handing off to senior running backs Carlos Cruz and Elijah Prophete, as well as a pair of juniors. Expect Prophete to also be a defensive leader and both a pick and sack threat on the other side of the ball, with seniors CJ Ramos and Austin Faria anchoring the offensive and defensive lines. With North Attleboro out of the Kelley-Rex and Sharon in as part of the latest league shakeup, Taunton will be eager to secure its first winning league record since joining one of the state's toughest conferences over a decade ago.

Bridgewater-Raynham

Coach: Eian Bain

2023 record: 4-7 (2-1 Southeast Conference)

2024 outlook: Longtime Raynham resident Eian Bain has brought his "Row The Boat" mentality from Franklin to the Trojans, who after a rough start last season ended the year with three straight wins. Senior Caleb Tripp provides options as both a quarterback and fullback in what looks to be a run-heavy offense with some passing options, including Dylan Reed, Caiden Blake, Josh Alexandre, Emmett DuPuy and Kaden Barnard, all of which are also defensive backs on the other side of the ball. Look for running backs Cole LeCornec and Brayden Lewis to make names for themselves as well. Senior Owen King and junior Jack Lambert provide other options under center while senior CJ Lopes and juniors Lachlan Isabel and Spenser Kilsby anchor the offensive line.

Bristol-Plymouth

Coach: Roger Saraiva

2023 record: 3-8 (0-4 Mayflower Large)

2024 outlook: Longtime Craftsmen assistant Roger Saraiva became the fourth head coach in program history this spring, continuing the half-century tradition of hiring within house. After a few appearances filling in for Ryan Donovan last year, junior quarterback Nate Hicks takes the helm for B-P and will have several passing options, including juniors Jordan Finni, Lavarr Webster and Braylan Allen and senior Owen Hale. Junior running back Thaniel LaBrie will once again lead the backfield, aided by junior Isaac Dueñas and sophomore Tim Nixon. Ahead of them, senior Cullen Woods and juniors Brayden Perry, Jazmani Wynn, Jayden Cruz and Trey Mendez anchor a more experienced offensive line. The receivers and running backs also will play key roles as the Craftsmen's linebackers and defensive backs on the other side of the ball as well.

Dighton-Rehoboth/Bristol Aggie

Coach: Kevin Gousie

2023 record: 3-7 (0-4 South Coast Blue)

2024 outlook: After low numbers and graduating 15 seniors last year, the Falcons have entered a co-op with Bristol Aggie, allowing students at Dighton's other high school the opportunity to play under those famed Friday night lights. D-R/BA returns several key starters, including seniors Evan Thibert, Gavin Salera, Xavier Landry and junior Kensley Macean, all of whom should figure heavily into the Falcons' success on both sides of the ball. Senior Ashtyn Tavares and sophomore Christian Bielawski give the co-op two options at quarterback while sophomore running back Cole Gifford will look to stake his claim in the backfield.

Schedule

Week 1A

Sept. 6

Bridgewater-Raynham vs. Barnstable, 6 p.m.

Taunton at New Bedford, 6:30 p.m.

Bristol-Plymouth at Greater New Bedford, 6:30 p.m.

Dighton-Rehoboth/Bristol Aggie vs. Nauset, 6:30 p.m.

Week 1

Sept. 12

Taunton vs. Durfee, 7 p.m.

Sept. 13

Dighton-Rehoboth/Bristol Aggie vs. Medway, 6:30 p.m.

Bridgewater-Raynham at Plymouth South, 7 p.m.

Week 2

Sept. 19

Bristol-Plymouth vs. South Shore Tech, 7 p.m. (Southeastern)

Sept. 20

Dighton-Rehoboth/Bristol Aggie at Dennis-Yarmouth, 6 p.m.

Taunton at North Attleboro, 7 p.m.

Bridgewater-Raynham at Marshfield, 7 p.m.

Week 3

Sept. 27

Dighton-Rehoboth/Bristol Aggie at West Bridgewater, 6:30 p.m.

Bridgewater-Raynham at Middleboro, 7 p.m.

Sept. 28

Bristol-Plymouth at Upper Cape Tech, 12 p.m.

Week 4

Oct. 4

Taunton at Everett, 7 p.m.

Bristol-Plymouth vs. Greater Lowell Tech, 7 p.m. (Aleixo "Tiger" Stadium)

Week 5

Oct. 10

Bristol-Plymouth vs. Tri-County, 6 p.m. (Homecoming Game) (Aleixo "Tiger" Stadium)

Oct. 11

Bridgewater-Raynham vs. Durfee, 6 p.m.

Dighton-Rehoboth/Bristol Aggie vs. Apponequet, 6:30 p.m.

Taunton vs. Franklin, 7 p.m.

Week 6

Oct. 17

Bristol-Plymouth at Southeastern, 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 18

Bridgewater-Raynham at New Bedford, 6:30 p.m.

Dighton-Rehoboth/Bristol Aggie vs. Somerset Berkley, 6:30 p.m.

Taunton at King Philip, 7 p.m.

Week 7

Oct. 25

Bridgewater-Raynham vs. Dartmouth, 6 p.m.

Taunton at Attleboro, 6:30 p.m.

Dighton-Rehoboth/Bristol Aggie at Old Rochester, 6:30 p.m.

Bristol-Plymouth vs. Diman, 7 p.m. (Senior Night) (Aleixo "Tiger" Stadium)

Week 8

Oct. 31

Taunton vs. Sharon, 6 p.m.

Nov. 1

Bridgewater-Raynham vs. Shrewsbury, 6 p.m.

Dighton-Rehoboth/Bristol Aggie at Greater New Bedford, 6:30 p.m.

Bristol-Plymouth at Old Colony, 7 p.m.

Week 9

Playoff/non-playoff opponents TDB

Week 10

Playoff/non-playoff opponents TDB

Week 11

MIAA semifinals

Week 12

Nov. 27

Bristol-Plymouth at Blue Hills, 6 p.m.

Nov. 28

Taunton vs. Milford, 10 a.m.

Bridgewater-Raynham at Brockton, 10 a.m.

Dighton-Rehoboth/Bristol Aggie at Seekonk, 10 a.m.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Find everything you need for the 2024 Greater Taunton-area high school football season