MATTAPOISETT Bay Path opened the second quarter on Old Rochester's doorstep, first and goal and down only 7-0, with a chance to tie a road playoff game. The Minutemen came away without points, according to the running score on Bay Path's official Facebook page, and the next touchdown belonged to the Bulldogs.
Old Rochester beat Bay Path 41-14 on Thursday night, Nov. 5, at David S. Hagan Stadium in Mattapoisett in the Round of 16 of the MIAA Division 6 tournament. The seventh-seeded Bulldogs, now 8-1, won their fifth straight game and move on to the Round of 8 at No. 2 Hudson, which beat No. 15 Bishop Fenwick 35-14 the same night, MaxPreps reported. No. 10 Bay Path, now 4-5, is out of the tournament; its MaxPreps schedule lists one more game, at home against Assabet Valley on Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 26, at 10:15 a.m.
The second quarter
Old Rochester punched in a touchdown for a 13-0 lead with 5:55 left in the second quarter, Bay Path posted, and the Minutemen answered with a 32-yard touchdown that made it 13-7. The Bulldogs scored once more before the break and went to the locker room ahead 19-7.
"Old Rochester strikes again going up 19-7 at the half," the Bay Path account wrote. "Playing hard... keep working, boys."
After the break
Old Rochester scored the next 15 points after halftime and led 34-7 with about 11 minutes to play, according to the MaxPreps live score. Each team scored seven more points from there, and the final read 41-14.
Bay Path came into the night scoring about 25 points a game and scored half of its 14 on the 32-yard touchdown and extra point in the second quarter. Its other seven came after Old Rochester already led by four scores. The Minutemen's own post after the final called the Bulldogs "a solid Old Rochester Regional HS."
How the Bulldogs got here
Old Rochester came in 7-1 and 3-0 in its league, first in the standings, on a four-game winning streak in which it outscored opponents 151-45. Its only loss was 35-14 to Foxborough on Oct. 2, after the Bulldogs led 14-0 early in the second quarter, the Globe reported. A year ago they opened 0-4, then won a first-round game at Wilmington 47-39 in three overtimes as the 13th seed before Hudson ended the run.
Old Rochester has now won at least one state tournament game in each of the last six MIAA tournaments it played: every year from a 26-6 first-round win over Northeast Metro Voc-Tech in 2021 through the Wilmington night last fall, as the Wanderer, the Globe and the Sippican Week reported, and now Thursday. Bryce Guilbeault is in his eighth season as head coach.
Junior running back Benji Baptiste carried the Bulldogs into the tournament with 21 touchdowns, according to Globe and Standard-Times figures. He ran for 1,096 yards in the five regular-season games with published totals, behind junior quarterback Connor Nelson and senior fullback Matt Tobin.
Bay Path's season
Bay Path arrived 4-4 and 3-1 in Central Mass B, on a two-game winning streak after a 35-7 win over Millbury and a 41-21 win at Uxbridge, its first road win of the season, its posted schedule shows. The Minutemen run the Wing-T and had run for 2,328 yards in eight games, according to the statistics the team entered on MaxPreps, led by senior fullback Dominik Ignatovich with 976 yards. Coach Cody Giampa's teams won three straight Vocational Large state titles from 2022 to 2024.
Tale of the tape
| Old Rochester | Bay Path | |
|---|---|---|
| Seed and record coming in | No. 7, 7-1 | No. 10, 4-4 |
| League | 3-0, first | 3-1, Central Mass B |
| Points per game coming in | 30.9 scored, 14.9 allowed | about 25 scored, 19.3 allowed |
| Offense | Under center, two backs, run-heavy | Wing-T, 2,328 rushing yards and 501 passing in eight games |
| Leading rusher | Benji Baptiste, 1,096 yards in five games with published totals | Dominik Ignatovich, 976 yards on 94 carries |
| Head coach | Bryce Guilbeault, eighth season | Cody Giampa |
| Thursday | 41 points, record now 8-1 | 14 points, out of the tournament at 4-5 |
| Score by half | 19-7 at the half, 22-7 after it | 7 in each half |
The per-game points and the second-half split are our math from the published scores.
What comes next
Old Rochester goes to No. 2 Hudson in the Round of 8, a rematch of the game that ended the Bulldogs' run last fall. Hudson's MaxPreps schedule lists the game for Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. at Hudson; the MIAA had not posted the date, time or site by Thursday night. Round of 8 tickets are sold online only, through GoFan, at $11.50 with fees included. The Bulldogs' regular season ends on Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 26, at 10 a.m., when Apponequet comes to Hagan Stadium.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
The final score and both records come from MaxPreps' game page, and the final from Bay Path's own Facebook post; the first-quarter score, the first and goal, the 13-0 lead with 5:55 left, the 32-yard touchdown and the 19-7 halftime score come from Bay Path's in-game posts on its official Facebook page; the 34-7 score with about 11 minutes left comes from the MaxPreps live score. The second-half split, the fourth-quarter points and the per-game figures are our math from those scores. Seeds, the bracket and the Round of 8 pairing come from the MIAA's Division 6 page and bracket, Hudson's result and the listed Nov. 13 game from Hudson's MaxPreps schedule, Bay Path's Thanksgiving game from its MaxPreps schedule, ticket prices from the MIAA's price list, and season records, statistics and program history from the sources listed, credited where they appear. Scorers and player statistics for Thursday had not been published by either school, MaxPreps or any outlet when this was written, and the school's live video of the game went private early in the second half; we will add them when they are posted. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar. Not heard: Old Rochester coach Bryce Guilbeault, Bay Path coach Cody Giampa and Old Rochester athletic director Chris Carrig, asked Thursday night.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (20)
- MaxPreps: Bay Path RVT at Old Rochester Regional, Nov. 5, 2026Live score 34-7 with about 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter, read Nov. 5, 2026, 8:48 p.m.; final: "the Bay Path RVT varsity football team lost their away playoff game against Old Rochester Regional (Mattapoisett, MA) by a score of 41-14"; records Old Rochester 8-1, Bay Path 4-5. Read Nov. 5, 2026, 9:03 p.m.
- MaxPreps: Bay Path RVT football scheduleNov. 5 at Old Rochester Regional, L 41-14, overall 4-5; next listed: "11/26 10:15am vs Assabet Valley RVT". Read Nov. 5, 2026.
- MaxPreps: Old Rochester Regional football scheduleOverall 8-1, league 3-0, first in South Coast Blue, streak 5W. Read Nov. 5, 2026.
- Bay Path (official Bay Path RVT Facebook page): in-game posts, Nov. 5, 2026"At the end of one BP trails 7-0 to Old Rochester Regional but are knocking at the door first and goal to start the second"; "Old Rochester punches another one and now up 13-0 with 5:55 left in the second quarter"; "BP strikes back with a 32 yard TD closing the score 13-7!"; "Old Rochester strikes again going up 19-7 at the half"; final post: "BP comes up short tonight 41-14 to a solid Old Rochester Regional HS on the road in an MIAA Division 6 playoff game." Read Nov. 5, 2026, 8:29 p.m. and 9:05 p.m.
- MIAA: Football 2026 Division 6 State TournamentNo. 7 Old Rochester Regional vs. No. 10 Bay Path RVT, 11/05/26 7:00 PM, Old Rochester Regional; No. 2 Hudson vs. No. 15 Bishop Fenwick, 11/05/26 6:30 PM; Round of 8 entries show no dates yet. Read Nov. 5, 2026, in the afternoon and again late Thursday night (Round of 8 still undated).
- MaxPreps: Hudson football schedule"Nov 5: vs. Bishop Fenwick (home), W 35-14"; "Nov 13: vs. Old Rochester Regional (home), 7:00pm". Read Nov. 5, 2026.
- MIAA: 2026 Division 6 football bracketSeeds: 7 Old Rochester Regional 7-1, 10 Bay Path RVT 4-4, 2 Hudson 8-0, 15 Bishop Fenwick 4-4. Read Nov. 5, 2026.
- MIAA: tournament ticket prices"Tickets for all other MIAA Tournament events are available via GoFan"; "Online Ticket Sales Only"; football Round of 8 $11.50 with fees. Read Nov. 3 and Nov. 5, 2026.
- Arbiter Live: Old Rochester Regional varsity football schedule2026 results; Thu Nov 26, 10:00 AM vs Apponequet, David S Hagan Stadium. Read Nov. 2 and Nov. 4, 2026.
- Arbiter Live: Bay Path RVT varsity football scheduleBay Path's 2026 results (35-7 Millbury, 41-21 at Uxbridge). Read Nov. 3 and Nov. 4, 2026.
- MaxPreps: Bay Path RVT football stats (team-entered)Team 246 rushes, 2,328 yards; 501 passing yards; Ignatovich 94 carries, 976 yards. Read Nov. 3, 2026.
- Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Association: state champions 2021 to 2030Vocational Large: Bay Path 2022, 2023, 2024. Read Nov. 3, 2026.
- The Boston Globe: Oct. 2 scores and resultsFoxborough rallied from 14-0 down early in the second quarter. Read Nov. 2, 2026.
- The Boston Globe: Old Rochester 47, Wilmington 39 (3OT)13th seed over No. 4 Wilmington in three overtimes after an 0-4 start. Read Nov. 2, 2026.
- The Wanderer: "ORR Kicks Off Playoffs with Convincing Win"Nov. 14, 2021: 26-6 over Northeast Metro Voc-Tech. Read Nov. 3, 2026.
- The Boston Globe: "Old Rochester runs through South Coast rival Fairhaven in Division 5 first-round win"2022 first-round win, 49-17 over Fairhaven, as cited in our preview.
- The Wanderer: "Gridders Stage Playoff Comeback"2023 first-round win, 28-14 over North Middlesex, as cited in our preview.
- The Sippican Week: "Bulldogs keep on rolling to state semifinals"Nov. 16, 2024: 42-10 quarterfinal win over Norton, as cited in our preview.
- The Standard-Times (on Yahoo Sports): Week 8 SouthCoast football roundupOne of the Standard-Times weekly roundups behind the Baptiste yardage and touchdown totals in our preview.
- SC360: Old Rochester and Bay Path playoff preview (our deep dive)Program playoff history 2021 to 2025, Baptiste's 1,096 yards in five games and 21 touchdowns, 151-45, per-game points, Guilbeault's eighth season, each with its own source there. Read Nov. 5, 2026.