The article discusses Patriots placekicker Stephen Gostkowski's performance against the New York Jets the previous week. It notes that Gostkowski kicked field goals late in regulation and overtime to force and win the game for the Patriots. The article contrasts this with Gostkowski missing a field goal earlier in the season that contributed to a Patriots loss. It discusses how kickers must have both long-range accuracy and a short memory to bounce back from mistakes. Gostkowski says he tries to stay even-keeled and focus on each kick regardless of the situation to help his team.

1. 29ENTERPRISENEWS.COM OCTOBER 28, 2012
ON THE WEB
Take another look at last
week’s top area high school
sports performances at
Enterprisenews.com
INSIDE
HIGH SCHOOLS, COLLEGES / 30, 31
CELTICS, PATRIOTS / 32
OUTDOORS, SCOREBOARD / 33
H I G H S C H O O L F O O T B A L L
Unflappable Gostkowski
knows long, short of it
A strong, accurate leg
with a short memory for
misses keys for kicker
By Glen Farley
ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
A
s an NFL place-kicker,
Stephen Gostkowski’s aim
must be long range.
His memory must be short
term.
“We all, as athletes, have to have, I
guess the word of the year is ‘amnesia,’ ”
said sidekick Zoltan Mesko, the Patriots
punter who doubles as Gostkowski’s
holder on the side. “I personally have this
24-hour period where I lick my wounds
and then we move on and we learn from
our mistakes.”
Stub your foot today, prepare to step
up tomorrow: That must be the place-
kicker’s approach to life.
Those who can, live to kick another
day. Those who can’t, are sent on their
unceremonious way.
“I try to keep the same focus whether
it’s a first-quarter or second-quarter or
third-quarter kick because there have
been games where I’ve made or missed
kicks that we’ve ended up winning by
three or that three points really could have
helped, so the dramatics of it might
change when you look back at it, but dur-
ing the game I want to make every kick,”
Gostkowski explained. “If I’d have
missed a kick in the first quarter, I’d be
just as upset as if I miss one at the end of
a game.
“I just try to stay even, keep my head
low, do my job, and show up and work
each day. Things work themselves out if
you work hard and put your talent to good
use.”
Gostkows-
ki put his best
foot forward
for the Patriots
last Sunday,
his 43-yard
field goal on
the final play
of regulation
forcing overtime before his 48-yarder
provided the margin of a 29-26 victory
over the New York Jets.
And with that, what a difference five
weeks made.
It was Gostkowski’s miss of a 42-yard
field-goal attempt back in the second
week of the season that put the finishing
touch on a 20-18 loss to the Arizona Car-
dinals.
“(I) never lost hope (in him),” said
Mesko. “He’s the guy we trust and he’s
QTODAY
PATRIOTS vs. RAMS
I TIME: 1 p.m.
I WHERE: Wembley
Stadium, London
I TV: Chs. 4, 12
I RADIO: WBZ-FM
98.5
C O L L E G E S O C C E R
MARC VASCONCELLOS/THE ENTERPRISE
I Pembroke High wide receiver Thomas Johnson runs upfield after
making a first-quarter catch against Middleboro High on Saturday.
Titanic duo
does job for
Pembroke
Brandon, Johnson
team up for 4 TDs
to deny Sachems
By Scott Roche
ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT
MIDDLEBORO – Cory Bran-
don and Thomas Johnson had a Sat-
urday afternoon
for the Pem-
broke High foot-
ball team that most quarterbacks
and wide receivers only dream
about.
Brandon was a perfect 9-for-9
passing for 269 yards and three
touchdowns while Johnson had
three receptions for 187 yards and a
touchdown as the Titans raced out
to a 32-0 halftime lead and held off
a second-half charge by Middle-
boro High for a 39-19 Patriot
League victory at Battis Field.
“Thomas Johnson has been a
three-year starter for us,’’ said Pem-
broke High coach Bob Bancroft. “I
have been challenging him lately
because he hasn’t made some of the
plays that a senior could be making.
Man, did he shut my mouth. He did
everything.
“Corey Brandon is a junior
starter,” Bancroft added, “and has
made some mistakes this year and
we have been working on fixing
those mistakes and so has Corey.
Today, he was on fire. Everything
he threw was on target and he made
some great throws.’’
Johnson and Brandon hooked
up on the first drive of the game for
a 69-yard completion that set the
Titans (4-3) up at the Sachems’ 17.
Two plays later, Brandon hit Ryan
Chapman in the flat for a 17-yard
touchdown reception. Colin
Claflin’s extra point gave Pem-
broke a 7-0 lead.
Pembroke then went into its bag
PEMBROKE 39
MIDDLEBORO 19
Bears strike
early, often
in blowout
BSU posts TDs on first six
possessions to romp
By Jay N. Miller
ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT
BRIDGEWATER – The Bridgewater State
University football team came about as close as
possible to the pigskin
version of a perfect
game in the first half
of Saturday afternoon’s contest with Maine
Maritime.
The Bears scored touchdowns on their first
six possessions, while the Mariners’ first six
possessions resulted in three punts and three
turnovers as Bridgewater State steamrolled its
way to a 48-21 win in their home finale at Swen-
son Field.
Bridgewater State’s school record for points
scored is 64 (vs. Salve Regina in 2005), and it
seemed like that mark might be in jeopardy
when a sixth straight successful Bears’ drive
made it 41-0 with 1:43 left in the first half. But
with almost all of the Bears’ roster seeing action,
and the Mariners (0-8, 0-6) finally finding some
offense from their third-string quarterback in the
second half, there would be no BSU scoring
records set on this day.
The Bears (8-1, 5-1) used three quarterbacks
BRIDGEWATER STATE 48
MAINE MARITIME 21
REIGN DROPDean College denies
Massasoit men a sixth
straight regional title
By Nick Costa
ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT
BROCKTON – The Massasoit Com-
munity College men’s soccer team want-
ed to add one more
piece of hardware to
the school’s packed
trophy case and one more chapter to its
storybook success.
Unfortunately, this was one that got
away from the Warriors.
Gregory Smedberg’s goal with 6:34
remaining in overtime lifted Dean Col-
lege to a thrilling 4-3 comeback victory
at Massasoit Community College on
Saturday afternoon as the Bulldogs
claimed the 2012 NJCAA New England
Region XXI Div. I men’s soccer champi-
onship.
The loss ended the Warriors’ run of
five consecutive NJCAA New England
Region XXI Div. I titles from 2006-
2011. Since the program’s inception in
1974, Massasoit has captured two na-
tional junior college men’s soccer titles
(1986 and 1987) and 19 New England
Region XXI championships.
It appeared that the Warriors (12-4-1)
were on their way to a sixth straight New
England crown when they bolted to a 2-0
lead in the first half. The Bulldogs (12-4-
2) answered with three unanswered goals
in the second half to take a 3-2 lead be-
fore freshman forward Mark MacKenzie
sent the match into overtime for Massas-
oit with a goal in the waning seconds of
regulation.
“After getting a 2-0 lead at halftime,
DEAN 4
MASSASOIT 3
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
I Patriots place-kicker Stephen Gostkowski, right, is the
franchise’s all-time leader in field goal percentage.
MARC VASCONCELLOS/THE ENTERPRISE
I Massasoit Community College midfielder Ruben Varela buries his face after Dean College scored the winning goal in
overtime of their men’s soccer Regional XXI Div. I championship game on Saturday.
TITANIC/PAGE 31
BEARS/PAGE 31
REIGN/PAGE 31
GOSTKOWSKI/PAGE 32