A defensive TD and blocked punt, Taunton football stars all over against New Bedford

NEW BEDFORD— Momentum is always key in the game of football , and it can change at a moment's notice.

Taunton High football (1-0) took it all to start Saturday, needing just an offensive snap before senior running back Carlos Cruz found a gap and ran through for the 44-yard touchdown with 8:18 left in the first quarter.

But then, New Bedford snatched it from them on their next drive, forcing Cruz to fumble near midfield then drawing even a few plays later thanks to a 2-yard run from senior running back Jarren Goodine at the goal line.

A battle of attrition ensued for much of the second quarter until senior running back Elijah Prophete took it home from 18 yards out to put the Tigers back on top with 2:17 left before the half. But just as luck would have it for the Tigers, a fumble by Goodine on the resulting kickoff was recovered by senior linebacker Elijah Perez near the goal line, allowing Cruz to punch in his second touchdown of the game just 24 seconds after Prophete's score.

From there, the Tigers took full control of momentum, riding it to a 37-7 win over the Whalers to start off the 2024 campaign in the win column.

"We did it on all phases," Taunton coach Brad Sidwell said. "We made a lot of things happen on special teams, the kickoff there to make it 21-7 was big on that fumble recovery. ... the first couple games are about eliminating mistakes and handling momentum swings and that’s what we tried to do."

Going into the fourth quarter, New Bedford had the ball on the Taunton 15, needing to score to get back in. Instead, junior linebacker Travis MacEachern picked off senior quarterback Julez Johnson up the middle and ran it back himself to make it 28-7, all but putting the game out of the Whalers' reach.

"That was a great play," Sidwell said. "You’re always in the two score game wanting to keep up two scores and we turned the ball over on the first drive of the second half, but then our defense bowed up and had the pick six which was huge."

FOLLOW LIVE: Greater Taunton high school football Week 1A scores and highlights

Special teams came through on the scoresheet as well, blocking a punt that Goodine was forced to run himself before being taken down by a slew of Tigers in the end zone for the safety.

From there, the Tigers cruised to victory, adding in one more 46 yard touchdown run down the right sideline by sophomore running back Amari Teixeira for good measure.

Still though, Sidwell knows there's room for improvement.

"We certainly weren’t clean on everything," Sidwell said. "We had a couple of passes we didn’t hit that we were close (on), but not perfect. We had a little bit of trouble on protection. Just a couple spots where we knew what to do but just didn’t get it done and we’ll clean that up."

He praised the defense for their efforts in understanding the flow of the game and doing their job to contain the Whalers, something they'll look to continue next Friday when the Tigers play host to Durfee (0-1) at p.m. next Friday.

While the Hilltoppers fell 44-7 to defending Division 6 Super Bowl champions Fairhaven Friday, Sidwell knows what the Fall River team is capable of, especially after a loss.

"Durfee’s a good, physical team and we know that they’ll be ready for us," Sidwell said.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: A defensive TD and blocked punt, Taunton football stars all over against New Bedford