In a game that proved to be far more difficult than the season-opening win over Bridgewater-Raynham, the Dragons struggled offensively throughout the afternoon, as the Eagles seemed to have an answer for every type of attack Coach Dave Maimaron threw their way.

As smooth as the opener was, game two on the schedule was full of potholes, as penalties marred Duxbury’s first possession and seemed to put the Dragons  back on their heels as they tried to attack a tough PN defense under first-year coach Dwayne Follette.

On their first possession, Duxbury was able to dig itself out of its hole thanks to the punting of junior Brendan Connolly, who boomed a punt down to the PN 28 with 5:05 left in the first quarter.

It didn’t take long for the Dragons to regain possession, as an alert Reilly Naton picked off a deflected pass and brought it back to the 31-yard line.

A penalty-aided first down and completed passes to Don Webber and junior Seamus Connolly took the ball down to the PN 17-yard line, only to see the drive end on a failed fourth-down attempt.

The Eagles would take over on downs at the 17 and managed to crawl out to the 44 before punting down to the Duxbury 28.

After a first-down pass to Webber, it looked like the Dragons were about to get their game plan rolling, but consecutive sacks of QB Kane Haffey brought the ball back to the 24.

Connolly put the Eagles back on their own 35 with 4:17 left in the half, and seven seconds later captain Max Randall pounced on a loose ball to give his team a first down at the PN 37.

A second-down pass to Webber for six yards and a PN penalty had the ball at the PN 26 on third down with just over 2:23 left in the half. Haffey dropped back and hit Webber cutting right to left over the middle, where he took a hit that knocked him off his feet. He miraculously got his arm down to break the fall and regained his balance before streaking into the end zone for a 6-0 lead. Sophomore Tucker Hannon came on for the extra point and the Dragons had their first lead of the game at 7-0.

Starting at its own 32 with 2:16 remaining Merritt hit Bobby Savoia on consecutive pass plays for 41 yards, allowing the senior QB to be in Hail Mary range, as he lofted a pass toward the end zone that Naton picked off once again as the horn sounded.

Duxbury’s offense was hoping to get untracked in the second half, and it looked like it was on its way when Haffey ran for two first downs and he completed an 11-yard first down strike to senior receiver Christian Spoor. The Dragons gained just one yard over the next three plays and failed to make it on fourth down, turning the ball over once again on fourth down.

Naton came through once again, recovering a PN fumble on first down and giving his offense possession at the PN 32 from where the Dragons offense could do little before giving it back to the visitors with 6:22 remaining in the third quarter.

Momentum swung to the Eagles, as Merritt moved his team from its own 12-yard line across midfield to the Duxbury 39 in four plays. A 15-yard penalty killed the drive and the Eagles were forced to punt down to the Duxbury 5-yard line.

Back deep in his own end, Haffey engineered a seven-play/95-yard drive that culminated in a 20-yard TD pass to Matt Hallisey, his fourth TD of the season and his third TD catch, giving Duxbury a 14-0 lead after Hannon’s PAT.

Desperately needing to stoke his offense, Coach Follette pulled one out of Sandlot 101with just over eight minutes left in the game. With the ball at the Duxbury 48, Merritt dropped back and looked left, hitting senior Liam Cosgrove in the flat. The senior wideout wasted little time, as he pitched the ball to Savoia, who flew down the left sideline and into the end zone to make it a game again at 14-6.

The Dragons caught a break when the PAT went wide with 8:25 left in the game.

It was now critical that the Dragons run time off the clock and they did take it down to 4:23 with Connolly’s booming punt down to the PN 23.

Merritt appeared to take the game over, as he combined with Matt Walsh for 20 rushing yards out to the PN 44-yard line. With one minute to go, he hit Zach Zaniboni down to the 29.

The clock needed to run faster, as Merritt was on fire, running for five more yards, completing a seven-yard pass for a first down, and picking up three more yards down to the 14 with 15 seconds left in the game.

Using his final timeout, Merritt brought his team back on the field after conferring with his coaching staff and drew an interference penalty on the Dragons with 10 seconds to go. A pass to Walsh put the ball on the five with two seconds remaining and one final shot at knotting the game.

Merritt took the snap and scrambled in the backfield before finding Walsh once again about a foot inside the goal line, as the clock showed no time left and the PN bench erupted.

Needing to tie the game and send it into OT, Merritt took the snap and looked right, where senior Denis Maguire picked off his two-point conversion attempt and raced all the way downfield for two points, giving Duxbury the 16-12 win.

The victory overshadowed a tough day for the Duxbury running game that managed just 39 yards on 16 carries, while the air attack carried the day with Haffey going 14 for 28 for 146 yards and two TDs.

Marshal McCarthy and Naton had big days on the defensive side of the ball with McCarthy registering nine tackles and six assisted tackles, while Naton was seven and two with a pair of interceptions and a fumble recovery.

This Saturday the team will travel to New Bedford to take on the Division 1 Whalers at 1 p.m.