I remember that Nov. 4, 1961 was a beautiful fall Saturday when my pals and I hiked up to Hayward field for the much anticipated, much ballyhooed game between unbeaten Attleboro high and once-beaten Mansfield high and their feature back, Ron Gentili, the Sun District's leading scorer.
It was "standing room only" at the football/baseball complex off North Avenue and electricity was in the air as the Blue and White lined up to kickoff to the Green and White - so at this point we'll turn the game account over to local broadcasting and sportswriting legend, Wally Cryan:
Gentili's running beats AHS
Capt. Ron Gentili scored two touchdowns to up his season's total to 100 points as he led the Mansfield Green Hornets to a 16-14 victory over undefeated Attleboro High School Saturday afternoon at Hayward Field. An outstanding game from the start to finish, the neighborhood rivalry attracted one of the largest crowds in history to Hayward field, with the exception of Thanksgiving Day games.
The crowd was estimated at 3,500. It was standing room only when referee Stan Grabiec flipped the coin at midfield. The Green Hornets, winning the toss, elected to receive.
The Hornets could not move and had to kick the ball away. On the ensuing series of downs, the Blue and White had tough going in trying to get it's offense clicking. Mansfield forced a break inside the Attleboro 20-yard line on a pass interception.
The Hornets marched to the Attleboro five-yard line and quarterback Ralph Maxwell called for a pass play. He tried to hit end Jimmy Knight but Art Nunes came out of nowhere and picked off the interception for Attleboro. That killed the early scoring chance for the Green Hornets.
Fairly played
The game, hard fought but impressive by its fair play, continued even through most of the first quarter with neither team being able to put on a sustained drive. Then, with little time left in the first, Gentili, one of Mansfield's all-time greats, crashed the line, found a hole, and raced 80 yards for the first Mansfield score.
Seconds later, as the Attleboro line tackled Gentili on the conversion play, halfback Doug Murphy took a pitch-out and waltzed into the end zone standing up for another two points. The teams played through a scoreless second quarter, with breaks for both clubs, but neither able to capitalize on them.
Twice Attleboro had trouble on a loose ball when punter Earl Fielding went back into kicking position on third down but failed to handle the ball. Attleboro lost another golden opportunity to score in the second period when Vin O'Donnell tossed a long bomb to Tommy Carpenter and the Blue and White co-captain dropped the ball in the end zone.
Carpenter was to come back later, however and throw a pass of his own that set up the second Attleboro score. As the teams left the field at the half, it was a fired-up Mansfield club with the Hornet stands going wild over their 8-0 lead.
Nunes shifted
As the third period got underway, Attleboro coach Jim Cassidy elected to move fullback Art Nunes back to his more familiar position at right end, flanking big Don Lange. Attleboro moved the ball well this time, and ground out the yardage down to the Mansfield nine.
O'Donnell went to the air and hit Nunes with a 9-yard scoring strike to put Attleboro on the scoreboard for the first time. The attempted conversion play failed, however, as the Mansfield line came cracking through and Attleboro was still down 8-6.
Late in the final quarter, Carpenter took a lateral from O'Donnell and spun a pretty pass out to Lange, the play covering 40 yards down to the Mansfield six-yard line. Earl Fielding then cracked over right tackle on two tries for the score and Attleboro was in the lead, 12-8.
Legs churning for the conversion, Fielding fumbled the snap from center and was taken down short of the Mansfield goal line. An offside penalty, however gave the Bombardiers another shot, and this time, Carpenter darted through the right tackle slot and scored the two points, increasing the Attleboro lead to 14-8.
At this point, as the Attleboro stands were now going wild with their touchdown lead, officials informed both benches that there were exactly 4 minutes left.
Call on Gentili again
This is where Gentili answered the challenge and the Hornets were on their way again. On the kickoff, Joe Sarro returned the ball to the Mansfield 40. From there, most of the ball carrying was handled by Gentili.
On one important play he scampered 20 yards across midfield for the second first down in the sustained march. The crowd watched in hushed anticipation as the Green Hornets moved the ball closer to the Attleboro goal line. Gentili got the call again at the Attleboro 14-yard line, and this time, with three Attleboro defenders along for the ride, he powered his way into the end zone, running wide right for the score.
The tying touchdown came with little more than 2 minutes left to play in the contest. The question now was how the Green Hornets would attempt to break the tie. They elected either to run or pass as they lined up at scrimmage with no kicker evident.
Earlier, the Bombardiers had not been able to stop the conversion when they tackled Gentili, but it was only a fake, because no Murphy actually had the ball running wide left. This time, the same thing happened, only it was Brent McCoy that did the scoring. The Attleboro line stopped Gentili cold, but Ron didn't have the ball. McCoy ran wide to the left and literally walked the last 2 yards to give Mansfield the lead.
Little time left
Now there was little time and a lot of yardage to cover as Attleboro received the ball. Carpenter grabbed the kick after Leo Gentili, Ron's cousin, kicked it long and straight down the alley. Carpenter took it at the 20 yard line, raced to the 30, picked up two blocks and reached the 45 yard line before the last two Hornets were able to bring him down.
Seconds later, Attleboro took to the air as O'Donnell sent Nunes and Lange out and the Hornets threw up an " umbrella defense" in an attempt to try and stop the last ditch Attleboro effort. At this point, Jack Ricardo, who had already made one interception, grabbed off another and the Green Hornets had the ball at their own 14 with just 30 seconds left on the clock. Quarterback Maxwell then went to his ground game and two plays later, it was over.
It was a big win for Mansfield, which has only one loss, since it gives the Hornets a shot at the Class D Eastern Mass. title. This win over Class C Attleboro boosts their stock considerably and their game with North Attleboro next week looms even more important ratings-wise.
When Hardt, Walsh and I had set out for Hayward Field from the Attleboro Common, our step was lively and our gait jaunty, three 13-year-olds in high spirits. Believe me, retracing our steps several hours later was a downcast trudge, each of our boots seeming to weigh 10 pounds, and conversation very spare.
So we dragged ourselves into Emory's Variety Store for two root beers and one birch beer. Going out the door, we all gave Emory a goodbye wave, and as we hooked the left up Water Street, one of us, (time has a erased his identity) asked, "Hey, Turkey Day should be a corker, huh?"
Indeed, as we will see next week - 'Til then...
Parting thoughts
A tip of the Irish Scally cap to all those big-hearted people who helped make the book sale/fundraiser for the Vandette family (speaking of which, whatever became of "Humpa" Vandette, a Jolly Cholly mainstay back in the 1960s?) a successful Rocket launch in Red & White country...
Condolences to the family of Alice F. Breese, to her grandsons, Kenneth N. Breese Jr. and Jeffrey D. Breese and wife Elena, Mallory and Everett Breese; and to her brother, Robert Bescherer and his wife Virginia. Alice was the mother of my late friend and schoolmate, Kenneth N. Breese, Sr.
Sympathy to the family of an old friend of many years, Marilyn A. Rigby. Marilyn's late husband, Bruce, was a longtime friend and neighbor, and her late father, Harry, delivered milk daily to our Holman Street home, back when such things were done when I was a young boy.
Bruce's parents, Charlie and Irma Rigby, were founders of the Attleboro High Varsity Club and served as co-presidents during my high school years - all were wonderful friends and people. Sympathy to daughters Bonnie Cruff and husband Steven and Pamela Poirier and husband Thomas, and two grandchildren Andrew T. and Sarah E. Poirier.
Condolences to the family of Mary Sara (Martin) Pineo, a lady I fondly remember from her years working in the AHS cafeteria. Sympathy to her children, Virginia and husband Jerry Gonville, and old schoolmate Emery Pineo III and wife Lindsey; and also to grandchildren, Cheryl Straub and husband Russell, Debrorah Milliard and husband Charles, David Gonville and wife Maeve, Brandon Pineo and wife Renee and Emery H. Pineo. Condolences also to great-grandchildren Nicholas, Harrison, Theodore, Kyle, Maxwell, Mirabel and Simon...
We are at that point again; please try to be good to one another out there, and try to do someone a good turn everyday. Try to be charitable to the less fortunate among us, the hungry and the homeless, and remember that kindness and courtesy spreads exponentially to all those to whom it is directed. It's important to any and all good citizens to be politically aware about what is going on in this nation of ours and knowledgeable about voting records in order to make corrections when necessary. It gets more difficult week by week for working families to make ends meet!
Peace...
Lastly, let's pause to commemorate the passing of a true American hero and legend, Neil Armstrong; On the night of 20
July 1969, I stood on the campus of Wheaton College, my eyes constantly flitting from the astounding scene on the screen of the battery-operated TV perched on the huge rock beside me to the mother-of-pearl bauble which dominated our earth's night sky just as it had for countless millennia.
But that single night was very,very different from previous millions of nights. That was the night that members of our human species walked on another world, and I believe that each and every eye in the civilized (?) world above the age of five tracked those historic steps in stunned wonder; rest in peace, star traveler...