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Reported by us | Fall River

Durfee 34, Newton North 28: Ahliy Cantave runs for four touchdowns, the last one breaking a 28-28 tie in the fourth

Durfee, now 7-2 with three straight wins, plays New Bedford next, on Wednesday, Nov. 25, at Fenway Park.

By the SC360 Sports Desk | Published Nov. 7, 2026 | Last verified Nov. 7, 2026, 10:57 a.m. ET

FALL RIVER Durfee broke a 28-28 tie in the fourth quarter on a 6-yard run by sophomore Ahliy Cantave, his fourth touchdown of the night, and beat Newton North 34-28 in a nonleague game at Dickinson Stadium in Newton on Friday night.

The win was the Hilltoppers' third straight, left both teams at 7-2 and ended a three-game winning streak for Newton North. Durfee scored four touchdowns in the first quarter, gave up the next 21 points, and then kept the Tigers off the board in the fourth, and its defense took the ball away four times on the night, according to the scoring summary and team statistics from Durfee coach Taylor Brown.

Four touchdowns in the first quarter

Junior Moziah Cousins opened the scoring on a 5-yard run, and senior quarterback Matt Sherry kicked the extra point, the first of his four. Cantave followed with two 3-yard touchdown runs, each with Sherry's kick, and Durfee led 21-0.

Newton North answered before the quarter was out when senior Domenic Busa broke a 58-yard touchdown run. Cantave got those points right back with a 21-yard run, the longest of his four scores, and after Sherry's kick the Hilltoppers led 28-7 at the end of the first quarter.

Busa brings the Tigers back

From there the game belonged to Busa for a stretch. He scored on runs of 4 and 6 yards in the second quarter, and Newton North went to halftime down 28-21. His 2-yard run in the third quarter tied the game 28-28. Busa ran for all four Newton North touchdowns, the Tigers made every extra point kick, and his 205 rushing yards topped The Boston Globe's list of Friday's rushing leaders.

Durfee never turned the ball over, and its defense recovered two fumbles and intercepted two passes, one by Zatayvian Rodrigues and one by Nelson Caraballo, who also returned two kickoffs for 48 yards.

The winning run

Cantave's 6-yard run in the fourth quarter put Durfee back in front, 34-28. The extra point kick was no good, and Newton North did not score again.

Cantave finished with 117 yards on 20 carries, and Cousins added 83 yards on nine carries, better than 9 yards a carry, as Durfee ran for 227 yards. Sherry ran eight times for 19 yards and completed one of five passes, a 32-yard catch by senior Landyn Nogueira, and Rodrigues gained 8 yards on his only carry.

The Hilltoppers' season

Cantave came into Friday averaging 129 rushing yards a game with nine rushing touchdowns, Sherry had seven touchdown passes and junior receiver James Gondre had six touchdown catches, according to Durfee's MaxPreps statistics through Nov. 2. Cantave passed 1,000 yards in his first varsity season with 127 against Brockton on Oct. 30, The Boston Globe reported.

"He's been taking a little pressure off Matt," Brown told The Boston Globe of Cantave after the Brockton game. "We're able to hit teams with more play-action." Sherry threw two touchdown passes to Gondre that night, and senior captain Carter Morel had three sacks in the 21-8 win, Durfee's first over Brockton since 1909, in what the Globe called the program's best season in a decade.

How the teams matched up

The two teams' MaxPreps schedules show that Newton North's 28 points tied the most Durfee has allowed this fall, matching its 28-27 loss at Framingham on Oct. 15, and that Durfee's 34 were the second most Newton North has given up, behind the 37 it allowed to Natick. The schools also shared two opponents: Durfee beat Braintree 21-7 at home on Oct. 2 and lost at Framingham, while Newton North beat Framingham 29-18 at home on Oct. 2 and won 34-29 at Braintree on Oct. 30.

The last time the two teams met, on Nov. 7, 2024, at Newton North, the Tigers won 28-21.

What comes next

Durfee plays New Bedford on Wednesday, Nov. 25, at 4 p.m. at Fenway Park in Boston, in the two schools' Thanksgiving rivalry game. Newton North is home against Brookline on Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 26, at 10 a.m.

Every South Coast final is on the Friday Night Scoreboard.

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

Notes

The final comes from two separate owners, Durfee's Arbiter Live schedule and The Boston Globe's scoreboard, and High School on SI lists the same final. Every scoring play, the quarter by quarter score and Durfee's statistics come from the scoring summary Durfee coach Taylor Brown sent Saturday morning, which gives Sherry one completion for 32 yards. Players' names and classes follow the team rosters. Records, common opponents, points allowed and season figures come from the MaxPreps and Arbiter Live schedules and Durfee's MaxPreps statistics, and the comparisons are our own count from them. Busa's rushing yards, the Brockton game, the coach's words and the best season in a decade come from The Boston Globe, the Fenway Park game from both schools' Arbiter Live schedules, and the rivalry's Thanksgiving tradition from WJAR.

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. Durfee head football coach Taylor Brown, scoring summary and team statisticsEmail to South Coast 360, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, 8:22 a.m.: line score Durfee 28-0-0-6, 34; Newton North 7-14-7-0, 28; every scoring play (Cousins 5 run; Cantave 3, 3, 21 and 6 runs; Busa 58, 4, 6 and 2 runs; Sherry four PAT kicks, fourth quarter PAT no good); Durfee rushing, passing, receiving, kickoff returns and turnovers.
  2. Arbiter Live: Durfee High School Varsity Football schedule and rosterRead Nov. 7, 2026: "Fri Nov 6 6:00 PM @ Newton North High School Dickinson Stadium W 34-28"; header "Boys Varsity Football (7 - 2)"; Wed Nov 25, 4:00 PM, at New Bedford High School, Fenway Park; roster lists Landyn Nogueira (Senior), Moziah Cousins (Junior), Ahliy Cantave (Sophomore), Carter Morel (Senior); head coach Taylor Brown.
  3. The Boston Globe: high school scoreboard, Nov. 6, 2026Read Nov. 7, 2026: Durfee, Final Score 34; Newton North, Final Score 28 (Non-Playoff).
  4. The Boston Globe: Globe Schools Insider, Nov. 7, 2026Friday's football leaders: rushing yards, Domenic Busa, Newton North, 205 (first on the list); rushing TDs, Domenic Busa, Newton North, 4. Read Nov. 7, 2026.
  5. High School on SI: Durfee at Newton North, Nov. 6, 2026Read Nov. 7, 2026: "Final", Durfee Hilltoppers 34, Newton North Tigers 28, both 7-2.
  6. MaxPreps: Durfee at Newton North, Nov. 6, 2026Read Nov. 7, 2026: "Final", 34-28, away non-conference game, both teams 7-2.
  7. MaxPreps: "Durfee Beats Newton North for Their Third Straight Win"Generated from scores entered on MaxPreps: Durfee third straight win, 7-2; Newton North winning streak snapped at three games, 7-2; Brookline at 10:00 a.m. on the 26th. Read Nov. 7, 2026.
  8. MaxPreps: Durfee 2026 schedule and resultsAttleboro W 12-9, at Taunton L 21-7, Somerset Berkley W 28-7, Braintree W 21-7 (Oct. 2), Dartmouth W 23-7, at Framingham L 28-27 (Oct. 15), at TechBoston W 35-13, Brockton W 21-8 (Oct. 30), at Newton North W 34-28; PA 128. Read Nov. 7, 2026.
  9. MaxPreps: Newton North 2026 schedule and resultsAt Waltham W 28-14, Newton South W 20-14, Weymouth W 14-12, Framingham W 29-18 (Oct. 2), Natick L 37-15, at Wellesley W 31-6, at Cumberland W 26-7, at Braintree W 34-29 (Oct. 30), Durfee L 34-28; Brookline at home Nov. 26, 10 a.m. Read Nov. 7, 2026.
  10. MaxPreps: Newton North 2026 rosterNo. 22 Domenic Busa, Sr., SS, RB. Read Nov. 7, 2026.
  11. MaxPreps: Durfee 2026 rosterZatayvian Rodrigues Sr.; Matt Sherry Sr., QB, K; Landyn Nogueira Sr.; Nelson Caraballo Jr.; Ahliy Cantave So. Read Nov. 7, 2026.
  12. MaxPreps: Durfee 2026 statisticsLast updated Nov. 2, 2026: Matt Sherry (Sr.) 7 TD passes; Ahliy Cantave (So.) 129.0 rushing yards a game, 9 rushing TDs; James Gondre (Jr.) 6 receiving TDs. Read Nov. 7, 2026.
  13. The Boston Globe: high school football notebook, Nov. 2, 2026Durfee "stunned the Boxers, 21-8"; senior captain Carter Morel three sacks; first win over Brockton since 1909; "senior quarterback Matt Sherry" two TD passes to James Gondre; sophomore Ahliy Cantave ran for 127 yards to surpass 1,000 in his first varsity season; Brown quote "He's been taking a little pressure off Matt ... We're able to hit teams with more play-action"; best season in a decade. Read Nov. 7, 2026.
  14. The Boston Globe: Globe Schools Insider, Week 8Durfee's 21-8 win over Brockton was its first over the Boxers since 1909. Read Nov. 7, 2026.
  15. Arbiter Live: New Bedford High School Varsity Football scheduleWed Nov 25, 4:00 PM, vs Durfee High School, New Bedford High School, Fenway Park. Read Nov. 7, 2026.
  16. WJAR (TurnTo10): Durfee, New Bedford to play Thanksgiving rivalry game at Fenway ParkWednesday, Nov. 25, kickoff 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving Eve; a rivalry traditionally played around Thanksgiving. Read Nov. 7, 2026.
  17. MaxPreps: Durfee 2024 scheduleNov. 7, 2024, at Newton North: L 28-21 (no meeting on the 2025 schedule). Read Nov. 7, 2026.

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