Taunton football players in black jerseys and white helmets walk back after a touchdown at night, two of them slapping hands, with Franklin players in light blue and officials near the orange and black end zone
Taunton players after a second-quarter touchdown against Franklin on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, at home in Taunton. The Tigers beat Needham 41-11 on Friday, Nov. 13. Image: Franklin Pride TV broadcast

TAUNTON Taunton beat Needham 41-11 on Friday night at the Taunton High football field for its first back-to-back wins of the season, according to the final posted on MaxPreps.

The 41 points were the most the Tigers have scored this fall, topping the 29 they put up in a 31-29 loss at Weymouth in the Sept. 11 opener, and the win evened Taunton's record at 5-5 with one game left. A defense that shut out Braintree 14-0 on Nov. 5 has now allowed 11 points over its last two games, the Tigers' MaxPreps schedule shows.

Needham, which came to Taunton off a 27-6 win over Brookline on Nov. 6, its highest-scoring game of the fall, fell to 2-8 in a nonleague game between two Division 1 teams that missed the state tournament.

How the Tigers got here

For head coach Brad Sidwell's Tigers, senior running back Amari Teixeira scored all three touchdowns in the 21-8 win at Stoughton on Oct. 16, on runs of 3, 26 and 17 yards, as the Stoughton Media Access broadcast of that game showed. Senior quarterback Evan Kane threw two touchdown passes in the 21-12 loss to Franklin on Oct. 30, the first to senior receiver Michael Braxton III, and senior kicker Alex Ozcan made two 34-yard field goals in the 27-20 loss at Attleboro on Oct. 23.

In 10 games the Tigers have scored 203 points and allowed 193. Their five wins came against Durfee, Lynn English, Stoughton, Braintree and Needham, and two of their five losses, 31-29 at Weymouth and 27-20 at Attleboro, were by seven points or fewer.

Taunton's season (MaxPreps schedule)
DateOpponentResult
Sept. 11at WeymouthL 31-29
Sept. 18DurfeeW 21-7
Sept. 25at North AttleboroughL 33-14
Oct. 2at Lynn EnglishW 19-18
Oct. 9BrocktonL 37-12
Oct. 16at StoughtonW 21-8
Oct. 23at AttleboroL 27-20
Oct. 30FranklinL 21-12
Nov. 5at BraintreeW 14-0
Nov. 13NeedhamW 41-11

Needham's season

Needham, coached by Doug Kopcso, opened 0-5, its MaxPreps schedule shows, and won for the first time 21-7 at Braintree on Oct. 16, when sophomore running back Preston Pinckney ran for 173 yards, The Needham Channel reported. Sophomore Liam West took over at quarterback when Jack Ringer left the Oct. 23 game against Weymouth in the second quarter, the station's highlights showed. The Rockets have scored 126 points and allowed 301 this season.

What comes next

Taunton closes its season at home on Wednesday, Nov. 25, at 6 p.m. against Hockomock League rival Milford, which went into the Division 3 tournament as the No. 2 seed, according to the MIAA bracket. Needham hosts Wellesley at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 26. Our preview of Friday's game has both teams' seasons in detail.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.

Notes

The final comes from the MaxPreps game page and both teams' MaxPreps schedules, which we read Friday night, Nov. 13, 2026, and The Boston Globe's scoreboard for that night. The season details come from the records behind our preview: the MaxPreps rosters and schedules, which list both schools in Division 1, the Taunton athletics site, the MIAA Division 3 bracket and the broadcasts of Taunton at Stoughton, Taunton at Attleboro and Franklin at Taunton, with Pinckney's yardage and the Weymouth game credited to The Needham Channel. We recomputed each team's points from its schedule and checked each date and weekday against a calendar.

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 (17)
  1. MaxPreps: Needham Varsity Football @ Taunton, Nov. 13, 2026, final"Final"; "On 11/13, the Needham varsity football team lost their away non-conference game against Taunton (MA) by a score of 41-11"; records Needham 2-8, Taunton 5-5. Read Nov. 13, 2026, about 9:55 p.m.
  2. MaxPreps: Taunton Tigers football schedule, 2026-27"11/13 6:00pm vs Needham W 41-11"; Overall 5-5; every 2026 result; "11/25 6:00pm vs Milford*" (league); state division "Division 1" (MaxPreps Massachusetts Division 1 rank 23); last updated Nov. 14, 2026, 2:30 a.m. GMT. Read Nov. 13, 2026, about 9:53 p.m.
  3. MaxPreps: Needham Rockets football schedule, 2026-27"11/13 6:00pm @ Taunton L 41-11"; Overall 2-8; every 2026 result; "11/26 10:00am vs Wellesley"; state division "Division 1" (MaxPreps Massachusetts Division 1 rank 27); last updated Nov. 14, 2026, 2:30 a.m. GMT. Read Nov. 13, 2026, about 9:53 p.m.
  4. The Boston Globe: High school football scoreboard, Nov. 13, 2026Visiting team Needham, final score 11; home team Taunton, final score 41. Read Nov. 13, 2026, about 9:58 p.m.
  5. Stoughton Media Access Corporation: Stoughton Football vs Taunton, 10/16/26 (broadcast)Teixeira touchdown runs of 3, 26 and 17 yards. Watched Nov. 13, 2026.
  6. DoubleACS and WARA 1320: Football, Taunton vs Attleboro, 10-23-2026 (broadcast)Ozcan 34-yard field goals; final 27-20. Watched Nov. 13, 2026.
  7. Franklin Pride TV: Franklin Panthers vs Taunton Tigers, Oct. 30, 2026 (broadcast)Kane touchdown pass to Michael Braxton late in the first half and a second touchdown pass late in the third quarter; final 21-12. Watched Nov. 13, 2026.
  8. MaxPreps: Taunton football roster 2026Classes and positions for Evan Kane (Sr. QB), Michael Braxton III (Sr. WR, FS), Alex Ozcan (Sr. K). Read Nov. 13, 2026.
  9. HockomockSports.com: Teixeira headline and photo caption (Oct. 17, 2026)Spelling of Amari Teixeira's name and his class (photo caption 'Taunton senior Amari Teixeira'). Read Nov. 12, 2026.
  10. Taunton High AthleticsHead coach Brad Sidwell on the football page. Read Nov. 12 and 13, 2026.
  11. The Needham Channel: Football Wallops Braintree For First Win of Season (Oct. 16, 2026)Sophomore running back Preston Pinckney, 173 rushing yards. Read Nov. 12, 2026.
  12. The Needham Channel: Rockets Roundup, Oct. 26, 2026 (Weymouth at Needham highlights)Ringer left in the second quarter; West at quarterback. Watched Nov. 13, 2026.
  13. MaxPreps: Needham football staff 2026Head coach Doug Kopcso. Read Nov. 12, 2026.
  14. MIAA: Football 2026 Division 1 State Tournament16-team bracket; neither Taunton nor Needham in it. Read Nov. 12, 2026.
  15. MaxPreps: Needham football roster 2026Liam West, No. 10, sophomore quarterback. Read Nov. 12, 2026.
  16. GoFan: Taunton Tigers vs Needham Rockets, Nov. 13, 2026Venue: Taunton High Football Field, 50 Williams Street, Taunton. Read Nov. 13, 2026.
  17. MIAA: Football 2026 Division 3 State TournamentSeed 2. Milford (7-1). Read Nov. 12, 2026.