Late Ben Angelini magic lifts Foxboro past Hanover in thriller

PLYMOUTH – In a rematch of the Division 5 Super Bowl, rain was a factor late in the game for Foxboro and Hanover, but it was a little bit of luck and a whole lot of senior Ben Angelini that proved to be the difference.

After being shut down on offense most of the game, the defending Super Bowl champion Warriors scored 14 points in the final 10 minutes to shock Hanover, 14-7. Angelini scored on a 76-yard run with 36.1 seconds left in regulation to break the 7-7 tie and help Foxboro return to their home away from home to chase back-to-back Super Bowl titles.

The Hawks (8-3) lost last season 48-21 at Gillette Stadium, as Foxboro (8-3) picked up its fifth Super Bowl title, but first championship in their own backyard and almost did not get there with only 50 yards of total offense in the first half.

With Angelini’s run, the Warriors will be the only one to return to play at Foxboro after the exciting come-from behind win in the state semifinals at Plymouth South High School.

“We’ve run that play and it has been successful for us all season. We’ve had a few big touchdowns on that same play, but it’s just Bryan Carew, he’s a genius and one of the best offensive coordinators in the state,” said Angelini, who finished with 155 yards on 22 carries. “The line was just ready, we were just hungry, and we wanted it more in the end.”

The play, affectionately known as Super Leonardo, had Angelini start off on a sweep left on a third-and-seven from their own 24-yard line. Angelini cut against the grain and the driving rain for a redirection run that will go down as one of the best plays in the program’s history and the game-winning touchdown for Foxboro.

Outside of an outstanding attempt from cornerback Ben Johnson, who ran the length of the field from the other side of the hash marks to get the left leg of Angelini at the Hanover 10, Angelini saved the season for Foxboro by bouncing in the end zone untouched the rest of the way.

The Hawks took the 7-0 lead early in the second quarter – just as they did in last year’s Super Bowl. Senior quarterback Tyler Vincent (20-of-29 for 217 yards passing) found his favorite target Sebastian Brown (seven catches; 97 yards) on a nine-yard fade route to the back right corner of the end zone and Peter Clarke’s extra point gave Hanover the seven-point lead at 9:45 of the second quarter.

But on a fourth-and-12 from the Hawks’ 17 and some extraordinary bouncing ball luck, Foxboro quarterback Mike Marcucella found Cam Delesky on the run just shy of the sticks only to have the ball pop loose after the catch. But somehow, Nolan Gordon was able to advance the football and scooped up the fumble recovery for the Warriors touchdown. Jackson Maling tied things up with the extra point and the Hanover sideline went from jubilation to stunned on one bounce of the football.

“I can’t say we practiced that but give Hanover all the credit in the world. They came out flying, they played a great game and we kind of figured they would come into this game with a bit of revenge and that’s just what we saw early on,” said Foxboro head coach, Jack Martinelli, who has Super Bowl victories in 1987, 1988, 1991, 2006 and 2023.

Yet, the Hawks (8-3) had their chances in the second half to go up two scores as a 14-play drive to open the second half stalled at the Foxboro 26. Then, with less than two minutes to play and the score tied 7-7, and an untimely snap from the Warriors’ 8 sailed past Vincent on a fourth-and-one attempt at the game-winning score.

Three plays later, Angelini set up the Warriors heroics in the end for their second trip back home to defend their title.

“I don’t even understand it, I guess you can fumble forward on fourth down, so we have to live with it,” said Hanover head coach Brian Kelliher. “Sebastian was awesome, Tyler played great, and he had to follow in the footsteps of Ben (Scalzi) for two years, so he had big shoes to fill, and he certainly did.”

Martinelli and the Warriors now advance to face Shawsheen Tech.

“No matter how you get to the Super Bowl is fine with me,” said Martinelli. “But this was a good test. I’ll be honest with you; the two previous playoff games were not a contest. Hanover came out to win this football game. Here we are, you know what we are going to do, and you have to stop us, and Hanover did that for most of the game.”