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ATTLEBORO - Tormented by a trio of first-half turnovers, being limited to six net yards and one first down of offense through the first two quarters of play, the Attleboro High School football team refused to drown in sorrow or further contribute to impending doom.

Ryan Araujo's 83-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a 67-yard punt return kept the Bombardiers on the McGrath Stadium scoreboard during the first half, then Matt Campbell and J.J. Jolaoso kept their legs moving in the second half as the Bombardiers ground out a "that's-more-like-it" 34-14 triumph over crosstown rival Bishop Feehan High.

The Bombardiers (5-3) put to rest a three-game losing skid with an impressive momentum-swinging second half in which AHS ran the ball 29 times and created 13 first downs, while the defense limited Bishop Feehan to 47 net yards of offense and two first downs.

The Bombardiers didn't let the 47th annual renewal of the series slip away because Jolaoso (in the AHS end zone with three minutes left in the first quarter) and Campbell (at the AHS 34 in the final minute of the first half) created pass interceptions.

"The kids did this on their own," offered AHS coach Kevin Deschenes of the Bombardiers' execution on offense (36 plays, 18 more than Feehan in the second half) and defense (the Shamrocks never advancing beyond the AHS 37 on four second half series). "They (AHS) are a good football team. They had to make a decision (after losing to Bridgewater-Raynham, Taunton and Darien, Conn.), they wanted to win." The Bombardiers scored a pair of third quarter touchdowns, the first two times that they had possession of the ball, drives of 69 and 52 yards to break a 14-14 halftime stalemate.

If AHS' 10-play scoring series which consumed the initial 4:07 of the second half wasn't impressive enough, its 63-yard, 12-play series which consumed six minutes of the fourth quarter clock put a definitive exclamation mark on the proceedings.

"They made big plays on us," surmised Bishop Feehan coach Tony Wood - the two by Araujo which prevented the Shamrocks from dominating the ball, the clock and the scoreboard. "Those two specialty teams plays were massive."

Araujo and AHS immediately answered the Shamrocks' go-ahead touchdown by snaring the ensuing kickoff and prancing up the middle of the field, then toward the right sideline - an 83-yard gallop and the first of four conversion kicks by Jesse Perry knotted the score.

Then after stuffing the Shamrocks on their very next series, Araujo and AHS was at it again, this time snaring a punt at the Bombardier 30-yard line and returning the ball 67 yards to the Bishop Feehan three-yard line, where two plays later Campbell bulldozed behind tackle Don Caouette for the go-ahead touchdown.

The Shamrocks (5-2) twice converted takeaways - a fumble recovery by Andrew Nunes at the AHS 25 and a fumble recovery by Cataldo at the AHS 15 - into touchdowns. Quarterback Tom Romero completed a fourth down and four-yard pass to Cataldo in the right corner of the end zone, right at the pylon for the Shamrocks' go-ahead TD, then scoring himself from a yard out after five successive rushes by Kevin Boland, Stanley Pacuk's second conversion kick tying the score at 14-all.

The Shamrocks had possession of the ball for eight series (consuming 15:13 of the clock), four times venturing past midfield, but being unable to make one more big play offensively which might have packaged AHS as a victim. "We didn't make third or fourth down plays," added Wood.

Campbell scored twice for AHS and rushed for 79 yards, while 10 of his 13 second half rushes were for four yards or more. Meanwhile Araujo rambled for 43 second half yards and Jolaoso 23 second half yards. A 23-yard pass from Nate Robitaille to A.J. Hoose and a 19-yard run by Robitaille set up Jolaoso's go-ahead touchdown four minutes into the third quarter for AHS.

Then a fake punt by Feehan failed, AHS taking over at its own 48-yard line. Four plays into the series, Robitaille, seemingly trapped behind the line of scrimmage while rolling to his left, uncorked a throw downfield to Araujo, splitting the seams of the Shamrock defensive secondary coverage, who then burst into the end zone for a 60-yard scoring strike.