FAIRHAVEN Fairhaven climbed out of a four-touchdown hole Friday night at Middleborough and got within one score, but the Sachems recovered the Blue Devils' last onside kick and ran out the clock on a 36-31 win.
Middleborough led 36-8 after three quarters before Fairhaven scored the final 23 points of the night, 31 of the last 37 in all, and a 1-yard touchdown run and an extra point made it 36-31 late in the fourth quarter.
The final score and the scoring plays are from the MaxPreps box score and the game's MaxPreps Scoretracker, kept by Fairhaven's scorekeeper, and the NFHS Network broadcast of the game. Fairhaven's athletics schedule on Arbiter Live had not listed a final by Friday night.
It was a Week 10 nonleague game for both teams after the MIAA playoff field was set. Coach Derek Almeida's Fairhaven team, the defending Division 6 state champion, had its title run end Nov. 5 in a 42-37 loss to Joseph Case in the Round of 16, and Middleborough, in coach Pat Kingman's 16th season, finished 23rd in the Division 4 power rankings, outside the 16-team field. Fairhaven is now 8-2 and Middleborough is 6-4, according to MaxPreps.
The Boston Globe's Sept. 9 preseason guide singled out Middleborough's junior quarterback Jacob Landers, senior Ryan Tullish and junior Chris Butler at running back, three-year starter Johnny O'Brien at receiver, and senior linebackers Jeremy Nee and Ronan Pyne. Landers and Tullish carried Middleborough on Oct. 30 at Rockland, where Tullish ran for three touchdowns and Landers scored from a yard out with 14 seconds left for a 36-29 win, according to the Globe.
Friday's win was Middleborough's third in a row, after the Rockland game and a 20-14 win at Whitman-Hanson on Nov. 5, according to the Sachems' Arbiter Live schedule and the Globe's high school football scoreboard.
How the Sachems built the lead
Middleborough struck midway through the first quarter on a 46-yard touchdown pass and a two-point pass, then broke a 46-yard touchdown run for a 14-0 lead after one quarter. A 5-yard touchdown run and a two-point run made it 22-0 at halftime.
The Sachems opened the third quarter with a 24-yard touchdown run and another two-point run for a 30-0 lead with about nine minutes left in the period. Fairhaven answered when senior Aidan Donnelly scored on a 1-yard run and junior quarterback Jackson Ponte ran in the two-point try. Middleborough came right back with a 26-yard touchdown run, and that two-point try failed, leaving the Sachems ahead 36-8 going into the fourth quarter.
Fairhaven scores the last 23 points
The comeback started early in the fourth quarter, when Ponte threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to senior Carter Frates and a two-point run made it 36-16. Fairhaven then recovered an onside kick, and Ponte finished the next drive himself with a 13-yard touchdown run. Another two-point run cut the lead to 36-24 with about 10 minutes left.
Middleborough recovered the next onside try, but the Fairhaven defense forced a punt, and a long return put the Blue Devils at the Middleborough 49. They drove the rest of the way, scored on a 1-yard run and kicked the extra point to make it a five-point game.
The last onside kick
Fairhaven needed the ball back one more time and tried another onside kick. Middleborough fell on it at its own 42, moved to the Fairhaven 48 and faced fourth and 2 with about two minutes left after a timeout. The Sachems picked up the first down and ran out the clock.
Fairhaven kicked onside after each of its three fourth-quarter touchdowns and recovered one, which led straight to Ponte's 13-yard touchdown run. For Middleborough, the cushion from the first three quarters was enough. The Sachems scored on a touchdown pass and four touchdown runs of 5 to 46 yards and made three of their five two-point tries.
What comes next
Both teams close the season on Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 26. Fairhaven hosts Dartmouth at 10 a.m. at Fairhaven High School, according to the Blue Devils' Arbiter Live schedule, and Middleborough hosts Carver at 10 a.m., according to the Sachems' MaxPreps schedule.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Every fact comes from the MaxPreps final box score and Scoretracker for the game, kept by Fairhaven's scorekeeper, the NFHS Network broadcast, both teams' MaxPreps schedules and Fairhaven's Arbiter Live schedule, with player names, numbers and grades and the head coach's name from the 2026 roster Fairhaven's athletic office sent us, and Pat Kingman's name and season and Middleborough's key players from The Boston Globe's Sept. 9 preseason guide, the Oct. 30 Rockland game details from the Globe's Oct. 31 football takeaways, and Middleborough's recent results from its Arbiter Live schedule and the Globe's scoreboard. We read them on Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, and checked each date and weekday against a calendar. The broadcast's score graphic did not display, so the score rests on the MaxPreps box score; Fairhaven's Arbiter Live schedule had not listed a final by filing. Not heard: the coaches of either team, who were not asked for comment by filing.
Corrections
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Sources (10)
- MaxPreps: Fairhaven at Middleborough, Nov. 13, 2026, final box score and ScoretrackerFinal 36-31; quarters Fairhaven 0, 0, 8, 23 and Middleborough 14, 8, 14, 0; records 8-2 and 6-4; scoring plays, onside kicks and the fourth-and-2 conversion from the game's Scoretracker kept by the Blue Devils' scorekeeper. Read Nov. 13, 2026, about 8:30 p.m., box score reread 8:45 p.m.
- NFHS Network: Middleborough vs. Fairhaven, boys varsity football, Nov. 13, 2026Broadcast of the game through the postgame handshake at midfield, about 8:20 p.m.; the broadcast's score graphic did not display.
- MaxPreps: Middleborough 2026 football schedule11/13 vs Fairhaven, W 36-31; overall 6-4; 11/26 10 a.m. vs Carver. Read Nov. 13, 2026, about 8:30 p.m.
- MaxPreps: Fairhaven 2026 football schedule11/13 at Middleborough, L 36-31; overall 8-2; 11/26 10 a.m. vs Dartmouth. Read Nov. 13, 2026, about 8:30 p.m.
- Arbiter Live: Fairhaven High School boys varsity football schedule, 2026-27Thu Nov 26, 10:00 AM vs Dartmouth High School, Fairhaven HS Stadium; no Nov. 13 result listed. Read Nov. 13, 2026, about 8:30 p.m. and 8:50 p.m.
- The Boston Globe: MIAA football Division 4 teams, 2026 preseason guideMiddleborough: 'Coach: Pat Kingman (16th season)'; 'a new signal caller in junior Jacob Landers'; running backs junior Chris Butler and senior Ryan Tullish; 'Three-year starter Johnny O'Brien leads the receiving corps'; seniors Jeremy Nee and Ronan Pyne at linebacker. Read Nov. 13, 2026 (saved with our preview).
- The Boston Globe: Globe Schools Insider football takeaways, Oct. 31, 2026'Middleborough defeated Rockland, 36-29, when Jacob Landers plunged into the end zone from 1-yard out with 14 seconds remaining'; weekly leaders, rushing touchdowns: 'Ryan Tullish, Middleborough, 3.' Read Nov. 13, 2026, about 10 p.m.
- Arbiter Live: Middleborough High School varsity football schedule, 2026-27Fri Oct 23 vs Norwell, L 28-42; Fri Oct 30 at Rockland, W 36-29; Thu Nov 5 at Whitman-Hanson, W 20-14; Fri Nov 13 vs Fairhaven. Read Nov. 13, 2026, about 10 p.m.
- The Boston Globe: high school football scoreboardNov. 5, Middleborough 20 at Whitman-Hanson 14, final; Nov. 13, Fairhaven 31 at Middleborough 36, final. Read Nov. 13, 2026, about 10 p.m.
- South Coast 360: Fairhaven at Middleborough previewFairhaven's 2026 school roster (No. 12 Jackson Ponte, junior QB; No. 11 Carter Frates, senior; No. 42 Aidan Donnelly, senior; head coach Derek Almeida), the 2025 Division 6 title won over Norwell, the Nov. 5 playoff loss to Case and the MIAA final power rankings. Read Nov. 13, 2026.