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NORTH ATTLEBORO - It didn't take long for the large crowd assembled at Community Field in North Attleboro to realize this Hockomock League football game between rivals Foxboro High and North Attleboro High was going to be something special.

Two touchdowns on the first three plays from scrimmage had the place buzzing, and the excitement never died, the Warriors holding off two last-ditch drives by North to emerge from the battle with a slim 24-22 victory, announcing their return to the Hockomock League elite.

"(We're feeling) pretty good, pretty good," Foxboro coach Jack Martinelli said. "We're a good football team and I think we're only going to get better."

Last year Foxboro jumped out to a 14-0 lead against North in the Warriors' Hockomock League opener, only to allow 21 unanswered points and lose, setting the tone for a 3-8 season. This year there would be no North comeback, Foxboro forcing a fourth-down interception and a turnover-on-downs in the game's final two minutes to emerge victorious.

Foxboro star running back Mike Delaney got the evening's festivities started with a bang, taking the opening handoff to the right tackle, breaking a block and springing outside, racing down the right sideline for a 76-yard touchdown on the game's first play from scrimmage. The Warrior running game was the difference in the game. Despite attempting just three passes Foxboro was still able to rush for 314 yards.

"We beat a good football team tonight. I mean they had 11 people in the box and we still were able to run the football." Martinelli said.

North was quick to answer, Dan Lang taking a handoff around the right end in the Rocketeers second play from scrimmage, racing nearly untouched for a 58-yard touchdown and a 7-6 lead.

What looked to be a high-scoring affair slowed considerably after, with the teams each punting three times until Foxboro began a drive at its own 33 early in the second quarter.

The Warriors nearly went three-and-out, as facing a fourth-and-a foot from their own 43 they sent out the punt team, much to the vocal chagrin of the Warrior sideline. But Foxboro took a timeout and then sent the offense back in, Delaney picking up just enough for the first after a measurement. From there the Warriors marched down the field, Luke Soccorso punctuating a 13-play drive with a 6-yard touchdown run with 50 seconds left, the drive taking up almost seven minutes as the Warriors took a 12-7 lead into halftime.

"I think their ability to control the football (was the difference), they kept our offense off the field," North coach Don Johnson said.

The Warriors made it 18-7 after a three-and-out by North to start the second half. After two Delaney runs, the second of which lost eight yards, the Warriors ran a misdirection trap for Soccorso, the bruising back running for 47 yards to the North 11. Foxboro then called the same play again, Soccorso easily scoring for his second touchdown of the day.

The duo combined for 310 yards on the day, Delaney amassing 176 on 27 carries (135 in the first half) while Soccorso did his damage in the second half, totalling 134 yards (109 in the second half) on 19 carries.

"(Delaney's) tough but what makes them tough on offense is the that they also have Soccorso," Johnson said. "So you might be able to contain Delaney a little bit which is hard enough, but then Soccorso comes back and pounds it right at you."

The two teams traded touchdowns in the next three possessions, North's Dan Johnson taking a left-end run 23 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth to make the score 24-22. From there it was a battle of the defenses.

With 5:53 remaining North took over at its own 30. After Joe Kummer (8-20, 138) converted on one fourth down to get to the Foxboro 40, Foxboro brought the pressure, substituting a pure pass-rushing set on defense. Kummer was sacked by J.P. Slaby on second-and-eight for a loss of seven yards, and then dropped for a loss on third down by Brandon Homer to bring up 4th-and-20. Still with three timeouts, North went for it, a deep pass picked off by Foxboro's Ty Spencer to give Foxboro the ball at its own 35 with 1:14 remaining.

"That's the worst situation to be in when they know we have to throw," Johnson said. "We did (think about punting), I just wasn't confident enough that we'd be able to stop them with the amount of time on the clock and be able to get the ball back with enough time."

North used their three timeouts to force a Foxboro punt, taking over at its own 39 with 47 seconds remaining. But Ed Noonan broke through the line for Foxboro, sacking Kummer on first down and forcing a spike on second to stop the clock. A third down pass was just out of the reach of a receiver, and when Kummer's fourth down pass landed harmlessly on the ground Foxboro celebrated, winning the most important Hockomock League game of the year to this point.

"It's tough. I think the good news is anybody can beat anybody in the league, so it's far from over," Johnson said. "So we just have to make sure the kids understand that and don't get too down."

Foxboro, 4-1 (1-0), travels to unbeaten Franklin on Friday. North plays host to Oliver Ames.