Standing-Room-Only Crowd For OA-Sharon Football

Sharon resident Tom Duffy says he parked "about a half mile" behind for today's .

Parking spaces -- and seats -- were scarce when he arrived, for the start of the second quarter.

"It's very impressive, the turnout here. No doubt about it," Duffy said while standing and watching the game from the fence around the field.

"This is probably the 10th year I've been to the game, and this is far and away the biggest turnout, which is nice."

Sharon Athletic Director Robert Sondheim estimated the crowd at 1,500 -- twice Sharon's usual football crowd.

"I don't remember, at least since I've been here," another game like this, he said.

-- some of which he gave to OA -- anticipating the interest.

The was at stake. OA won the crown by. However, a Sharon win and a Stoughton loss would have sent the Eagles to the playoffs.

The area around the Sharon High field was roped off for the overflow crowd.

Overflow parking was across the street, at both the and .

"It was a good crowd," Sondheim said.

"That's what Thanksgiving football should be about."

Easton resident Dana Bulger said that OA playing for a division title enhanced the game's appeal.

"I didn't expect to see this many people here. I've lived in Easton for a while. OA never had a game worth seeing. There was nothing at stake," Bulger said.

Easton resident Mark Hutchison initially said he was "a little bit surprised" by the crowd.

"There are a lot of seniors on the team this year. I think OA maybe has about 20 of them. So, maybe I'm not surprised. Everybody is here to support the seniors," he said.

Sharon resident Andy Golovoy attributed the turnout to having "a nice day (and) the team's doing well."

"It's tough to get a seat," Golovoy said.