2003 Regular seasonand Championship playoffsLeague games in BOLDFri. Sept. 12 Old Rochester Regional W 34-12 Fri. Sept. 19 Attleboro W 48-0 Thur. Sept 25 Billerica W 35-12 Fri Oct. 3 NORTH ATTLEBORO W 20-6 Fri Oct 10 @STOUGHTON W 42-0 Fri. Oct. 17 @FRANKLIN W 36-7 Fri. Oct. 24 @OLIVER AMES W 41-3 Sat. Nov. 1 KING PHILIP W 41-20 Fri. Nov. 7 BC High W 39-14 Sat. Nov. 15 SHARON W 43-0 Thus. Nov. 27 @FOXBORO W 35-0 Division 3 playoff Tues. Dec. 2 Quincy (Play-off) W 45-12 Sat. Dec. 13 Swampscott (Super Bowl) W 28-6
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Mansfield wins Super Bowl berth12/4/2003 Mansfield High was one of the premier high school football programs in Massachusetts in the 1990s. The Hornets won all three Division 3 Super Bowls they appeared in, in 1992, 1994, and 1996. The 1996 team is the only Division 3 School to finish the season ranked No. 1 in the Globe Top 20. Now, after a seven-year absence, the Hornets will get another crack at a Super Bowl. Mansfield beat upstart Atlantic Coast Champion Quincy on Tuesday night, 45-12, in bitter cold at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Quincy in the Division 3 semi finals. The Hornets will go on to play Swampscott, 32-7 winners over Walpole in the other semi final, this weekend. "It has been a while," said Mansfield (12-0) coach Mike Redding. "Quincy is a very good team, but I think we had too much big-game experience for them." "Us and Swampscott . . . those are two teams that can put a lot of points on the board. If you like high school football you should make it a point to get out to this one."
ED note: |
Swampscott schedule9/13 Somerville W 35 129/20 Stoneham W 50 13 9/26 Beverly W 34 16 10/3 Winthrop W 42 21 10/11 Danvers W 34 12 10/17 Lynn Classical W 41 33 10/25 Gloucester W 14 7 11/1 Salem W 34 6 11/8 Saugus W 16 0 11/15 Lynn English W 22 8 11/27 Marblehead W 35 21 12/2 Walpole W 32 7 12/6 Mansfield L 28 6 |
Defense boosts Mansfield"It's a 0-0 game, it looks like it's going to be a 0-0 game at the half, and all of a sudden we are up by 14," said Mansfield coach Mike Redding of his team's late surge. "We have recovered from some negative things to come back and we can score points in a hurry. I thought that was key to be up 14 . . . at the half." Faced with the daunting task of stopping a prolific Big Blue (12-1) offense, Mansfield pressured both quarterbacks, double-teamed star receiver Jason Blydell, and forced one of the state's best offenses to turn the ball over five times. "That's how it's been the whole year," said Mansfield's Tom Farrell, who had two interceptions and was also the offensive star for the Hornets. "We knew what we were going to do."
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| Quarters | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Mansfield | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| Swampscott | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
Scoring summary:
| 1st Downs | Total yards | Rushing yards | Passing yards | Penalties | |
| Mansfield | 18 | 422 | 31-182 | 251 | 6-36 |
| Swampscott | 13 | 286 | 22-183 | 120 | 0-0 |
RUSHING:
Kiley 13-41, Joseph 7-13, Farrell 7-118, Sperrazza 4-10.
PASSING:
Sperrazza 11-19-0=174, Farrell 1-1-0=77.
RECEIVING:
MacLean 5-95, Farrell 1-2, J. Giblin 1-6, Kent 2-45, Joseph 3-103.
MISSED FIELD GOALS:
Swampscolt Clain 35.
Neither wind, nor cold...The 12-0 Hornets made another special delivery in this already first-class season Tuesday night, racing to a 45-12 impeachment of the Quincy High Presidents at Veterans Memorial Stadium. More than 2,500 fans - most of them from Mansfield braved the 20-degree cold and gusting north winds to watch the Hornets put on a command performance in the first round of the MIAA Division 3 playoffs. By virtue of the big victory over the Atlantic Coast League champions, Mansfield has earned its fifth Super Bowl appearance of Mike Redding's 16-year tenure as head coach, meeting Swampscott 12-0 at a site and time to be determined later this week. In a season already filled with impressive performances, Tuesday's game may have been Mansfield's best from a top-to-bottom standpoint. High-powered offense hitting on all cylindersThe Hornets, One of the top teams in the entire state during the regular season with better than a 37.6 point per game average, didn't miss a beat Tuesday night in their MIAA Division 3 semifinal game against Quincy. Absolutely nothing could stop the Hornets as they rolled to a convincing, 45-12 victory. Nothing-not the field conditions, the less-than-ideal weather and obviously not the overmatched Presidents. If you thought maybe the concrete-like conditions of the Veterans Stadium turf might slow the Mansfield running game down, consider that the Hornets racked up 332 yards rushing on 39 carries. The knifing dust-whipping wind? All strong-armed quarterback John Sperrazza did was complete 7-of-12 passes for 101 yards and two scores, hardly season highs, but nonetheless rendering the wind a nonfactor. And the bitter, freezing cold? Look no further than running backs Tom Farrell, Chris Joseph and Brian Kiley, who scored two touchdowns apiece while wearing nothing but the Mansfield uniforms they were issued back in August double sessions - no sweatshirts, no thermals.
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| Quarters | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Mansfield | 12 | 19 | 7 | 7 | 45 |
| Quincy | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 12 |
Scoring summary:
| 1st Downs | Total yards | Rushing yards | Passing yards | Penalties | |
| Mansfield | 27 | 433 | 39-332 | 101 | 3-26 |
| Quincy | 7 | 117 | 19-57 | 60 | 5-55 |
RUSHING:
Kiley 17-131, Farrell 12-95, Sperrazza 3-22, Joseph 2-13, Boragine 3-11,
Walch 1-3, McHugh 3-20, J. Creeden 3-11, DiSanto 2-13, D'Ambra 2-5, McNeil 1-8.
PASSING:
Sperrazza 7-12-0=101, D'Ambra 0-0-0=0.
RECEIVING:
Kent 2-27, Joseph 3-43, MacLean 1-25, Farrell 1-6.
MISSED FIELD GOALS:
None.
Hornets defense swarmsRolls over Foxboro into playoffs"We knew what they were going to do better than they did," said Mansfield High School senior Chris Joseph, the Don Currivan Trophy winner as the outstanding player in the Hornets' 35-0 conquest of Foxboro Thanksgiving Day morning at the Ahern School Field. It wasn't just Joseph intercepting a Foxboro pass on the Warriors' second series of the second half, or his fumble recovery on Foxboro's next series that enabled Mansfield to prevail for the 11th time this season and clinch the Hockomock League title - it was a blanket wrap of a defensive performance by the MIAA Division 3 playoff-bound Hornets.
They left no doubt about one thing, at the very least.
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| Quarters | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Mansfield | 7 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 35 |
| Foxboro | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1st Downs | Total yards | Rushing yards | Passing yards | Penalties | |
| Mansfield | 21 | 344 | 37-212 | 132 | 6-49 |
| Foxboro | 8 | 133 | 20-72 | 84 | 6-50 |
RUSHING:
Farrell 12-80, Kiley 8-77, Sperrazza 3-4, Joseph 2-2, Boragine 2-23, Walch 1-3,
Gillis 3-13, Sanville 1-0, Laursen 2-2, Barnes 1-9, D'Ambra 2-(minus 1).
PASSING:
Sperrazza 8-14-0=132, D'Ambra 0-0-0=0.
RECEIVING:
MacLean 3-67, Farrell 2-28, Kent 1-22, Joseph 1-4, J. Giblin 1-11.
MISSED FIELD GOALS:
None.
Mansfield 43, Sharon 0"We've got a great group of seniors," Redding said. "There are 32 of them, and it's been hard to give them as much playing time as they deserved. Today was a good time to get everybody involved." For instance, 17 different players carried the ball at least once as the Hornets amassed 307 rushing yards on the way to a 340-102 total yardage advantage. Sperrazza found senior Chris Kerkhoff all alone in the end zone for a 36-0 lead - the first catch of the backup tight end's football career. Then, with third-string QB Mike Handley running the show, the Hornets marched 67 yards in seven plays, taking 4:25 off the clock, to make it 43-0 on Handley's 1-yard keeper with 54 seconds left in the third quarter. "There isn't much celebrating here because there's more to be had here, and the kids know it," Redding said. "It's nice to say that we're champs, but I think they're hungry for a little bit more. We don't want to share it with North Attleboro and Foxboro; we want to represent the league in the playoffs. "There's still one more big game to go," he added. "But at least we can order the jackets." |
| Quarters | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Mansfield | 21 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 43 |
| Sharon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1st Downs | Total yards | Rushing yards | Passing yards | Penalties | |
| Mansfield | 17 | 340 | 307 | 40 | 6-55 |
| Sharon | 6 | 102 | 70 | 42 | 1-15 |
RUSHING:
Kiley 2-56, Walch 3-38, Boragine 2-8, Farrell 6-101, J. Giblin 2-16,
Joseph 2-27, Sperrazza 1-2, Gillis 1-5, Perry 1-12, Creeden 2-9, Barnes
3-10, Handley 1-1, Sanville 3-17, McNeil 2-9, Hasslinger 1-minus 4,
Laursen 1minus 5, R. Giblin 1-5.
PASSING:
Sperrazza 3-7-1-40. D'Ambra 01-0-0, Handley 0-0-0-0.
RECEIVING:
Farrell 1-15, MacLean 1-14, Kerkhoff 1-11
MISSED FIELD GOALS:
None.
Mansfield 39, Boston College High 14The Hornets, playing without one of their top offensive weapons, got a stellar all-around performance from Tom Farrell and three touchdown passes from John Sperrazza to turn back the Eagles 39-14. Farrell, a senior captain, playing fullback in place of Brian Kiley (752 yards rushing, 11 TD's) who was nursing a sore ankle, rushed for 107 yards, returned an interception for a touchdown and capped off his night with a kickoff return for a score. "Farrell has not played fullback all year and he only got a two or three days practice, but he looked like he has played there all his life," said MHS coach Mike Redding. "He's such a natural athlete and does so many good things for us." Sperrazza connected on 6 of 11 passes for 143 yards and upped his TD total to 16 for the season. |
| Quarters | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Mansfield | 7 | 20 | 6 | 6 | 39 |
| B C High | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| 1st Downs | Total yards | Rushing yards | Passing yards | Penalties | |
| Mansfield | 17 | 309 | 171 | 143 | 5-50 |
| B C High | 15 | 299 | 222 | 88 | 3-40 |
RUSHING:
Farrell 12-107, Joseph 5-47, Barry 1-8, Sperrazza 3-7, Giblin 2-5, Barnes 2-4, Boragine 2-1, Walch 1-1, Creeden 1(-minus 1).
PASSING:
Sperrazza 6-11-0--143, D'Ambra 0-1-0--0.
RECEIVING:
Maclean 2-65, Joseph 2-44, Kent 1-30, Giblin 1-4.
MISSED FIELD GOALS:
None.
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MANSFIELD - Mansfield head coach Mike Redding knew what he had under center. He was just
waiting for the rest of the world to notice. The EMass football world is standing at attention now, as senior quarterback John Sperrazza turned in a lion-hearted three touchdown effort to lead No. 3ranked Mansfield to a 41-20 victory over Hockomock League foe King Philip. "Sperrazza's a big-time quarterback," said Redding. "If I was a college recruiter in New England, I don't know why they're not here yet, because they should be." The spotlight was thrust upon Sperrazza when, with the Warriors leading 13-6 midway through the second quarter, Hornet fullback Brian Kiley came up lame with an ankle sprain. The senior fullback's injury forced the Hornets to take to the air. Setup by Kiley's 19-yard run on the previous play, Sperrazza connected with receiver Ryan MacLean from 22-yards out to knot the tally at 13. "We usually like to stay pretty balanced," said Redding. "But they were doing a great job on the run, getting eight-nine guys up on the run, so we knew we had to throw." And throw they did. |
| Quarters | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Mansfield | 0 | 19 | 14 | 8 | 41 |
| King Philip | 0 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 20 |
| 1st Downs | Total yards | Rushing yards | Passing yards | Penalties | |
| Mansfield | 17 | 439 | 306 | 134 | 5-40 |
| King Philip | 15 | 333 | 283 | 61 | 5-25 |
RUSHING:
Giblin 4-16, Kiley 7-83, Farrell 10-173, Sperrazza 2-18, Joseph 1-10,
Creeden 2-8, D'Ambra 1-(-2).
PASSING:
Mansfield - Sperrazza 8-16-0--134
RECEIVING:
Mansfield Farrell 4-65, MacLean 3-57, Kent 1-12.
MISSED FIELD GOALS:
None.
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EASTON - It took the Mansfield High football team a little more than a quarter to heat up
on a frigid Friday night at Valentine P. Muscato Stadium, but once the Hornet did, they
smoked Hockomock League foe Oliver Ames 41-3. Turnovers on their first three possessions of the game led to the unbeaten Hornets (7-0, 4-0 in the league) actually facing their first deficit of the season as the Tigers (1-6, 0-4) capitalized on an interception for a 23-yard field goal by Pat Toomey with 2:24 left in the first quarter. But that fleeting sniff of an upset would be OA's high-water mark for the game. Mansfield, which has now only allowed two first-half scores all season, actually turned the ball over again on its very next play from scrimmage as Frank O'Leary snared a John Sperrazza pass on his own 25. But an illegal block penalty on the run back, a delay of game penalty and two big stops by Hornet defensive lineman Thomas Creeden, forced the Tigers to punt on the first play of the second quarter. From that point on it was Katie bar the door as the high-powered Hornets ripped off 34 points in a little over six minutes to salt away the win. |
| Quarters | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Mansfield | 0 | 34 | 7 | 0 | 41 |
| Oliver Ames | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 1st Downs | Total yards | Rushing yards | Passing yards | Penalties | |
| Mansfield | 20 | 341 | 226 | 115 | 8-55 |
| Oliver Ames | 9 | 76 | 79 | -2 | 5-30 |
RUSHING:
Joseph 4-84, Kiley 7-61, Farrell 3-24, Sanville 2-24, Boragine 4-23,
D'Ambra 1-5, McHugh 1-5, McNeil 1-3, DiSanto 1-1, R. Giblin 1-1, Laursen
1-(minus 1), Sperrazza 1-(minus 5).
PASSING:
Sperrazza 7-10-2-99, D'Ambra 1-1-0-16.
RECEIVING
MacLean 3-33, Kiley 2-37, Farrell 2-29, Barnes 1-16.
MISSED FIELD GOALS:
None.
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FRANKLIN - The undefeated Mansfield High football team continued to cut a wide swath
through the Hockomock League, methodically dismantles another contender/pretender to the
league title Friday night. The Hornets used a precision passing attack in the first half and stifling defense throughout to whip the Franklin Panthers, 36-7, at Pisini Field. Mansfield (6-0 overall 3-0 league) scored on three of its four first-half offensive possessions and the defense threw in a safety for good measure and held Franklin' (4-2, 1-2) to just 17 total yards in thoroughly dominating play for the first 22 minutes en route to a 29-7 halftime lead. Hornet quarterback John Sperrazza continues to shred opposing defenses, hitting 10 of his 12 first half passes for 157 yards and three touchdowns, two to tight end Ryan Kent. Fullback Brian Kiley provided the muscle to Sperrazza's finesse, pounding out 102 yards rushing and crossing the goal line twice for the game. |
| Quarters | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Mansfield | 7 | 22 | 7 | 0 | 36 |
| Franklin | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 1st Downs | Total yards | Rushing yards | Passing yards | Penalties | |
| Mansfield | 18 | 332 | 171 | 161 | 5-45 |
| Franklin | 4 | 58 | 19 | 44 | 1-10 |
PASSING:
Sperrazza 11-17-1=161
RECEIVING:
Farrell 3-78, Kent 3-40, MacLean 3-31, Giblin 1-5, Joseph 1-4;
MISSED FIELD GOALS:
None.
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STOUGHTON - The air-traffic controllers at Logan Airport had their hands full Friday
evening. Not only were they guiding a lengthy parade of jetliners up the narrow landing-pattern corridor from the southwest, they also had to contend with some heavy low-level traffic in the vicinity of Stoughton High School. For at least the first half of Friday's game against Stoughton, Mansfield High quarterback John Sperrazza was filling the airways with accurate passes, good enough for a 35-0 lead at halftime before he called it a night. Mansfield (5-0, 2-0 in the Hockomock League) went on to add one more touchdown in the third quarter to post a 42-0 whitewashing of the Black Knights. "We wanted to come in here and dominate the first half, and we did everything we wanted," Mansfield coach Mike Redding said. "We wanted Sperrazza to throw the ball... we get leads, and he doesn't get a chance to throw much, so we wanted to get him throwing a little bit, and we got that done." |
| Quarters | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Mansfield | 21 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 42 |
| Stoughton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1st Downs | Total yards | Rushing yards | Passing yards | Penalties | |
| Mansfield | 20 | 483 | 317 | 166 | 8-60 |
| Stoughton | 9 | 162 | 129 | 48 | 1-5 |
PASSING:
Sperrazza 5-9-0=157, D'Ambra 1-1-0=9.
RECEIVING:
Farrell 4-117, Kent 1-40, Dobrowski 1-9.
MISSED FIELD GOALS:
None.
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MANSFIELD -- Last night's Hockomock League battle between Mansfield and North
Attleboro was touted as the biggest game of the weekend. In Week 4, it was touted as the
battle for the league championship. It should have been advertised as the Brian Kiley Show. Mansfield's star back ran for 120 yards on 10 carries, scoring two touchdowns as the Hornets (4-0) beat North Attleboro, 20-6. "Brian Kiley is the best football player in the state," said Mansfield coach Mike Redding. "If you want to start a football team, he's the first pick." |
| Quarters | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Mansfield | 0 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 20 |
| North | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| 1st Downs | Total yards | Rushing yards | Passing yards | Penalties | |
| Mansfield | 13 | 273 | 208 | 65 | 3-20 |
| North | 14 | 246 | 166 | 88 | 6-30 |
PASSING:
Sperrazza 3-11-0=65
RECEIVING:
MacLean 2-32, Farrell 1-33.
MISSED FIELD GOALS:
None.
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MANSFIELD - The Mansfield High football team picked apart visiting Billerica High.
Literally. Leading 14-0 at the half, the Hornets' defense blew the game wide open in the third quarter with not one, not two but three interception returns for touchdowns - all three on consecutive plays, within a span of three minutes - en route to a 35-0 lead and; ultimately, a 35-12 victory over their non-league foes on Thursday night at Memorial Park. Brian Kiley accounted for two of the interception-return TD's - the first a tackle breaking 69-yard scamper and the latter a 26-yarder - and Ryan MacLean added a 31yard pickoff return in between as the Hornets absolutely stunned their overmatched visitors. "Our defense kind of took over, and obviously dominated the third quarter - we don't touch the ball, but we score 21 points," said Mansfield coach Mike Redding, shaking his head in amazement. "I think the defense sensed we were struggling a little bit, and they kind of picked it up, made some big things happen and really took the game over" |
| Quarters | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Mansfield | 0 | 14 | 21 | 0 | 35 |
| Billerica | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 12 |
| 1st Downs | Total yards | Rushing yards | Passing yards | Penalties | |
| Mansfield | 12 | 256 | 134 | 130 | 9-75 |
| Billerica | 9 | 174 | 58 | 135 | 7-15 |
PASSING:
Sperrazza 11-15-0=130, D'Ambra 0-0-0=0.
RECEIVING:
Farrell 3-44, J. Giblin 1-16, Maclean 6-67, Willette 1-3.
MISSED FIELD GOALS:
None.
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MANSFIELD - A long time ago, when cars had tailfins and television was in black-and-white,
this game was an even match - and then, only when little Mansfield High produced a
once-in-a-generation group of athletes who could hold their own against mighty Attleboro,
Mansfield's not that little any more, however - and the Hornets play a very big brand of
football, as they demonstrated to the winless Bombardiers Friday night. Amassing an amazing 410 rushing yards, and with senior quarterback John Sperrazza throwing four touchdown passes in the first half, Mansfield improved to 2-0 with a thorough, 48-0 domination of Attleboro on the artificial surface of Alumni Field. |
| Quarters | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Mansfield | 14 | 21 | 13 | 0 | 48 |
| Attleboro | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1st Downs | Total yards | Rushing yards | Passing yards | Penalties | |
| Mansfield | 22 | 540 | 410 | 130 | 5-55 |
| Attleboro | 4 | 66 | 63 | 16 | 5-40 |
PASSING:
Sperrazza 6-10-1=130, D'Ambra 0-0-0=0.
RECEIVING:
J. Giblin 1-23, Kiley 2-39, MacLean 2-52, Farrell 1-16.
MISSED FIELD GOALS:
None.
Coach: Craig Sherman (18th year,1O3-67-5).
Last year's record: 11-1.
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MANSFIELD - Once again touted as a preseason favorite in the Hockomock League,
Mansfield High displayed 22 minutes of near-flawless football in its opener. The Hornet starters put on an offensive and defensive clinic in the first and second quarters, scoring on all five of their first-half possessions, taking a 34-0 lead into the locker room. Mansfield ran through and around the Bulldogs and then passed over them almost at will, while also denying ORR any offensive breathing room. Offensively in the first half of play, Mansfield had 300 total yards, 193 on the ground, and 15 first downs. Defensively, the Hornets held ORR to minus-2 total yards, courtesy of four sacks for minus32 yards. (In) the first half I thought we were real crisp, said MHS coach Mike Redding. We spread the ball around and defensively I thought we did a good job stopping the run. |
| Quarters | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Mansfield | 14 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 34 |
| Old Rochester | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 12 |
| 1st Downs | Total yards | Rushing yards | Passing yards | Penalties | |
| Mansfield | 19 | 361 | 241 | 120 | 10-104 |
| Old Rochester | 11 | 93 | 34 | 98 | 3-23 |
PASSING:
Sperrazza 7-9-0-107, D'Ambra 1-1-0-13.
RECEIVING:
J. Giblin 3-27, MacLean 2-33, Willette 1-37, Walch 1-3, Joseph 1-10.
MISSED FIELD GOALS:
None.