on 11-07-2009 04:00

By STEVE MAZZONE

Sports writer

LINCOLN – Five different plays.
In his squad’s crucial Division II-B contest with Cumberland High on Friday night, that’s about all Lincoln coach Dave Waycott pulled out of his playbook.
That’s all he needed.
Relying almost entirely on their running game, the Lions pounded the gridiron for more than 300 yards. With its effective ground attack and a two-touchdown effort from running back Brandon Jutras, Lincoln defeated Cumberland with a 28-14 Homecoming win at Ferguson Field.
Besides defeating their neighboring rival for the first time in four years, the triumph also assured the Lions (3-4) a slot in the upcoming playoffs. That was made official just five minutes before the final whistle when it was learned that South Kingstown rolled past Toll Gate, 37-7, in its game on Friday night.
Cumberland (3-4), Toll Gate (3-4) and the Lions were all fighting for the fourth and final playoff spot. Lincoln earned its ticket based on head-to-head meetings. For the Lions, it’s their first trip to the postseason since 2003.
“We’re in,” said Waycott.”That’s what we set out to do. I remember in the second week in August I mentioned how it’s been so long and we got to get to the playoffs. That was out goal this year. And we achieved our goal.”
Jutras was definitely nuisance to the Clippers. In addition to his two scores, he was the top ground-gainer on the field with 135 yards on just 21 handles.
It was far from a one-man show, though.
Junior quarterback Ryan O’Dell gave his arm a rest, passing just twice for the night, and rushed for 87 yards and a score. Senior Anthony Saracina also found the end zone and ran for 83 yards. Lincoln mostly utilized a spread offense with O’Dell in the shotgun formation.
“We thinned our playbook out a lot,” Waycott said. “They have a very dangerous offense with their runs, their sweeps, their passing. Basically, I said let’s do what we do well. That’s all we did.”
“At the time,” he added. I thought the running game would eventually open up our passing game. Once it was so successful, I just changed everything up.”
“They lined up, good for them, they got off the ball and took it to us,” said CHS head coach Chris Skurka. “We had a hard time stopping them.”
Things certainly started off well for the Clippers. After successfully recovering an onside kick on the opening kickoff, the Clippers manufactured an eight-play, 52-yard drive that ended with running back Dave Elkas scoring on a three-yard run.
The Lions, however, answered that drive with an impressive one of their own. Introducing their spread offense right from the start, Lincoln responded with a 68-yard drive with Jutras finding the end zone of a three-yard run. O’Dell ignited the drive with a 27-yard run on just the second play. Saracina set up Jutras’s score with a 27-yarder on a third-and-two situation.
“That was huge,” Waycott said. “You could see the momentum starting to change. You could see some life coming back.”
Lincoln would double its advantage at the start of the second half with Jutras scoring his second TD of the night on another three-yard run, capping off a lengthy, 12-play drive that started at the end of the first quarter and finished with 8:56 remaining until halftime.
Lincoln’s defense was up for the task on the cold Friday night. In the second half, the Lions dominated in terms of possession, and twice stopped Cumberland from doing any damage inside the 20-yard line.
O’Dell would give his teammates a 21-7 lead with a five-yard keeper early in the third quarter.
Canavan, who was sacked four times by the Lions, did manage to get Cumberland within a touchdown. After the Clippers were flagged for a 15-yard penalty on a personal foul, he needed just two plays from midfield before unleashing a perfect spiral to receiver Joe Vecchio on a 49-yard TD pass play.
That would be the closest the Clippers would get. Saracina put the exclamation on the ‘W’ with a one-yard run in the fourth quarter. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak by the Lions, including three Division II-B contests.
“It’s a credit to these kids,”Waycott said. “A lot of team would fold up their tents after that. These kids came in on Monday morning and wanted to get better and we worked hard. It’s more a credit to them.”

***
Cumberland    7 7 0 0 - 14
Lincoln 6 8 6 8 – 28
C – Dave Elkas 3 run (Michael Hayes kick)
L – Brandon Jutras 3 run (kick blocked)
L – Jutras 3 run (Ryan O’Dell run)
L – O’Dell 5 run (run failed).
C – Dan Canavan  49 pass to Joe Vecchio (Chad Bacon kick)
L – Anthony Saracina 1 run (O’Dell pass to Osel-lie Saine)

                                L        C
First downs                 17        7                            
Rushes-yards  .                55-310        20-63                   
Passing                     0-2-1        7-15-1
Net passing                  0        192                 
Penalties-yards                 2-10        4-60           
Fumbles-lost                0-0        1-1           
Punts-average                1-33        2-30                  
***
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: L –Brandon Jutras 21-135, Ryan O’Dell 14-87, Anthony Saracina 18-83, Asjed Hussain 1-2, Jevonne Dube 1-3. C  - Keith Gaumond 6-13, Dave Elkas 8-38, Justin Gaudette 4-29, Dan canavan 8 (-17)
PASSING: L – Ryan O’Dell 0-2-1 0. Dan Canavan 7-15-1 192.
RECEIVING: C – Keith Gaumond 4-50, Dave Elkas 1-9, Joe Vecchio  3-65.
 

on 11-07-2009 03:59

By ERIC BENEVIDES

Sports writer

NORTH SMITHFIELD - North Smithfield’s bid to go from winless season to postseason is still alive.
Senior tailback Roger Sherman rushed for 122 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries and the Northmen took advantage of six Central Falls turnovers on Friday night en route to a 34-22 victory in their Division IV battle and N.S.’s Homecoming Night.
Both the Northmen (3-3 in the division) and the Warriors came into this duel in dire need of a win in order to keep their postseason hopes alive. They not only needed to take this game and run the table on their division schedule, but they also needed some outside help along the way.
The Northmen, who were winless a season ago and 1-7 in 2007, will hit the road for their final two games and look to defeat North Providence (1-6) next Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and Scituate (3-2) on Thanksgiving morning.
They also need Exeter/West Greenwich (3-2), which they beat in the second week of the year, to lose one of their final three games to Hope (4-2) today, Classical (4-2) next week, or the Warriors on Saturday, Nov. 21, or have Scituate lose once to Classical this week, Middletown (5-1) next week, or the Northmen in their finale.
“They’re playing some very good football teams,” N.S. head coach Wes Pennington said of EWG and Scituate. “We still have to win our final two games, but I’m hoping that (the teams they’re playing) help us out to make this thing a little bit easier for us.”
The Warriors, who fell to 3-4 in the division, came into this game with victories in three of their last four games, but fell prey to the turnover bug (two first-half interceptions, four second-half fumbles).
“I don’t think we quit, I just think it wasn’t our day,” added C.F. head coach Mo Jackson. “We beat ourselves. You can’t turn the ball over six times against any team and expect to win.”
“The turnovers really turned the game around for us,” said Pennington. “When you get a turnover, that brings the momentum to your side and we were able to capitalize on some of them.”
The Northmen took a 14-0 lead after a quarter of play on a 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matt Rondeau to Giguere Giles with 3:48 on the clock and a strong 33-yard run up the middle by Sherman with 35.6 seconds to play.
The Warriors made it a 14-8 game when Antonio Mena tossed a 34-yard halfback option pass to Robert Alers in the end zone and followed that throw with a two-point conversion pass from Steven Vazquez, but things soon went downhill for C.F. in the second half.
After the Warriors’ second fumble of the third quarter gave the Northmen the ball on the C.F. 25, the Northmen added to their lead six plays later on a 1-yard run up the middle by Sherman and the third of four extra points by Bill Nangle.
With 8:50 to play in the game, Sherman made it a 27-8 game by scoring on a 7-yard run, and after another fumble by the Warriors inside their 20 gave the Northmen back the ball with great field position, Jimmy Martins reached the end zone on a 2-yard run.
“The guys did well and came out to play,” added Pennington. “I think our win last week against Middletown really gave us some confidence tonight.”
The Warriors’ final two touchdowns came in garbage time, as Vazquez hooked up with Emmanuel Versailles on a 22-yard touchdown pass with 2:29 to play and Mena on a 10-yard TD pass with 38.3 seconds left.
Vazquez, a sophomore quarterback who passed for over 120 yards in each of his first four varsity starts for the Warriors, was 7-for-18 for 98 yards and his two picks, but before the Northmen took their 34-8 lead, he was only 2-for-10 for 18 yards.   
The Warriors did receive a fine outing from senior tailback Albert Bello, who picked up 107 yards on 14 carries.
**
Central Falls        0    8    0    14    --    22
North Smithfield    14    0    7    13    --    34
NS – Giguere Giles 12 pass from Matt Rondeau (Bill Nangle kick)
NS – Roger Sherman 33 run (Bill Nangle kick)
CF – Robert Alers 34 pass from Antonio Mena (Antonio Mena pass from Steven Vazquez)
NS – Roger Sherman 1 run (Bill Nangle kick)
NS – Roger Sherman 7 run (kick blocked)
NS – Jimmy Martins 2 run (Bill Nangle kick)
CF – Emmanuel Versailles 22 pass from Steven Vazquez (pass failed)
CF – Antonio Mena 10 pass from Steven Vazquez (Antonio Mena pass from Steven Vazquez)

                CF        NS
First downs            11        12
Rushes-yards            25-152        45-179
Passing            8-20-2        6-12-0
Sacked-yards lost        2-13        0-0
Net passing            119        64
Punts-average            1-36.0        7-15.0
Fumbles-lost            7-4        3-0
Penalties-yards        3-25        3-30
**
Individual statistics
RUSHING: CF – Albert Bello 14-107, Emmanuel Versailles 5-24, Antonio Mena 2-16, Steven Vazquez 2-3, Jay Juan Carter 2-2. NS – Roger Sherman 21-122, Alex Blanchette 10-43, Jimmy Martins 4-17, Matt Rondeau 5-2, Giguere Giles 3-2, Peter Mancini 2-(-7).
PASSING: CF – Steven Vazquez 7-18-98-2, Antonio Mena 1-1-34-0, Albert Bello 0-1-0-0. NS – Matt Rondeau 6-12-64-0.
RECEIVING: CF – Emmanuel Versailles 3-41, Antonio Mena 3-30, Robert Alers 1-34, Kevin Figueiredo 1-27. NS – Giguere Giles 3-36, Peter Mancini 3-28.          
 

on 11-07-2009 03:58

By BRENDAN McGAIR

Sports writer

 PAWTUCKET – It has been a long and painful season for the coaches and players associated with the two Pawtucket public high school programs.
On Friday, each side added another chapter to their respective tale of woe.
There was a lambasting, which Mount Hope administered to Tolman, 39-0, at Pariseau Field. There was also the excruciating, which Shea experienced across town at Max Read Field, falling in overtime to a one-win Pilgrim squad, 20-14.
Usually the Thanksgiving Eve clash between the Tigers and Raiders is looking upon with great reverence. That won’t be the case when the pair gets together under the lights at McCoy Stadium on Nov. 25. The records have a great deal to do why this usually anticipated clash has been replaced with a whaff of despair, Tolman dropping to 2-5 in Division II-A while the Raiders sink to 1-6 in II-B.
Scratch beneath the surface and then you’ll truly understand why the well has run dry for the Tigers and Raiders these days. Football is a game based primarily on desire and will. Right now both critical components are nowhere to be found, according to both head coaches.
“We don’t have much heart,” said Shea mentor Dino Campopiano as a joyful bunch of Patriots boarded the bus behind him.
“We faced a legit football team [in the Huskies]. They smacked us in the mouth and we didn’t like it,” offered Tolman’s Dave Caito. “We [meaning Tolman and Shea] both stink, so (Thanksgiving) should be game, providing no one quits.”
Tolman actually had a chance to play spoiler Friday, given Mount Hope came to town still very much in the mix for the II-A division title. The Huskies, now 6-1, will finish tied atop the standings with either Woonsocket or Westerly. Ironically both the Villa Novans and Bulldogs will lock horns this afternoon at Barry Field.
The carnage came early and often for Tolman. Already up a score, Mount Hope recovered the ensuing kickoff when a scene straight out of the “Bad News Bears” resulted in the Huskies setting up shop at the Tigers’ 20 yard-line.
Mount Hope finished all five of its offensive drives in the opening half, the result a plush 33-0 advantage at halftime. Tolman managed just one first down through two quarters.
“They’re just a better football team than us,” said Caito matter-of-factly.
While the Tigers were getting pushed around, the Raiders were locked in a nip-and-tuck affair with a Patriots team that upended Lincoln in overtime two weeks ago. Pilgrim jumped out to a 6-0 lead after one quarter, quarterback Justin Martin calling his own number on a third down that turned into a 57-yard jaunt.
The Raiders, now losers of four straight in league play, drew even four plays into the second quarter, Manny Baptista breaking free for a 21-yard run. Shea tacked on the two-pointer conversion to go up 8-6, quarterback Josh Burgo lofting a pass in the right corner to Jamal Tucker.
Shea surged ahead 14-6 in the third quarter after Baptista covered 75 yards on the ground. The conversion kick was missed, which turns out would haunt the Raiders later on. Pilgrim knotted the contest at 14-all after Martin plunged in from a yard away before adding the two-pointer, capping off a drive in which the signal-caller converted two fourth downs with clutch throws.
A scoreless fourth quarter brought on overtime. Pilgrim possessed the ball first, and it only took two plays for the deadlock to be broken. Tailback Derek DeSilva scooted in from two yards away for the eventual game-winning score.
The pressure shifted to Campopiano’s sideline to see if Shea could force a second overtime. Instead Pilgrim’s defense held its ground, stuffing the Raiders on four straight running attempts.
“We don’t finish games,” said a sullen Campopiano. “We don’t play four periods.”
Before the Raiders and Tigers can renew holiday acquaintances, they must first get though their respective crossover matches next weekend.