By BRENDAN McGAIR

Sports writer

It wasn’t too long ago East Providence head coach Sandy Gorham was splitting hairs between Robert Delgado and Aaron Spivey. Both players were more than capable of manning the quarterback responsibilities. Gorham, however, preferred to anoint one of them as the starter, the prevailing wisdom that by employing a tandem would create uneasiness amongst the ranks.
Thanks to his play in recent weeks, Delgado scratched away at the mini-dilemma.  Buoyed by pocket awareness and a cannon of an arm, Delgado is one of the main reasons why the Townies are off to a high-flying 3-0 start and have hung an average of 32 points on Division I foes.
Delgado, a junior, is making things look pretty easy right now. The junior amassed 342 passing and rushing yards against Portsmouth and St. Raphael, sprinkling in five touchdowns for good measure. Numbers aside, what pleases Gorham the most about Delgado’s progression is how aware he now is of his surroundings.
“Last year we were hoping Robbie would take over, but even he admitted the speed of the game was too fast. Then he was trying to do too much in the beginning of this year,” said Gorham. “We had a long conversation about ‘Instead of being the offense, I want you to manage it and then react. You don’t have to do it all.’”
Delgado doesn’t have to shoulder the load, not with the supporting cast he has. Gorham’s cadre of tailbacks includes inside runners Ryan Bellamy and Richard Haley with Emerson Perez and Jalin Braxton serving the counterbalance as flash-and-dashers. With wideout Tyler Jackson excelling as a downfield threat, Delgado can call a play with the utmost confidence, knowing it will be properly executed.
Gorham also traces Delgado’s meteoric rise to the day he installed No. 7 as the undisputed “QB.” Needless to say it’s worked wonders for his confidence knowing that he wouldn’t have to look over his shoulder after every errant play and see Spivey, who by the way has his own designated roles, that of free safety and place kicker. 
“Robbie wants that role as a leader and is not afraid of the consequences,” explained Gorham. “Knowing that we’re not going to take him out if he plays poorly, I think he’s relaxed.”
The foundation of Delgado’s current fortune can be traced back with the work he put in with St. Raphael head coach Mike Sassi over the summer at the Rhode Island Football Academy. Sassi, a quarterback instructor at the camp, tweaked Delgado’s throwing delivery, resulting in more authoritative releases.
Of course Sassi must be ruminating in the back of his mind that the pointers he gave to Delgado don’t come back to haunt him or the Saints. They did last Friday when Delgado threw for two scores and ran for another in the third quarter alone in a 42-12 Townie win.   
St. Raphael shouldn’t feel bad, for the bet here is that the remaining teams on East Providence’s schedule will feel the sting of Delgado. The only question is whether his feet or right arm will inflict the pain.

Chieftains Not Skipping A Beat
The loss of a marquee player can often prove a tough road to hoe. Ponaganset quelled such a notion in Friday’s 36-8 win at East Greenwich, when Josh Morgan did an admirable job filling in at quarterback for the injured-for-the-duration Jake Kravitz.
All Morgan, arguably Ponaganset’s most pure athlete, accomplished in his first varsity start was complete 8-of-11 passes for 177 yards and two scores while adding 33 rushing yards. Certainly Morgan, a converted receiver, made a seamless transition, but there were plenty of items to get used to, according to head coach Tom Marcello.
“We were used to Jake’s tendencies for 15 games, and then everything changes,” said Marcello. “To come out with a win and in the fashion in which we did, it’s a testament to the kids and coaches.”
The decision was made on Morgan some 48 hours after Kravitz went down with a broken ankle against Moses Brown. Ponaganset was prepared to live part of the season without Kravitz, but that was before the senior informed his teammates at last Wednesday’s practice that he was through (Kravitz underwent successful surgery last Friday).
One of Marcello’s assistants clamored for Morgan to quarterback the Chieftains going back to his sophomore days. Morgan himself wanted the job steered in his direction even though there were some rather large shoes to fill. Kravitz exemplified what a winner is, having compiled a 26-2 mark between three rungs (freshman, JV, and varsity).
“We went back and forth on a few guys, but we knew Josh was the best option,” said Marcello. “Sometimes as coaches we just have to get out of the way, and that was an important part last week. The players knew who the best fit for this team was and obviously we made the right decision.”
Marcello was asked if he had to scale back the playbook with the grooming of a new quarterback. His answer revealed just what type of player he coaches, the kind that can pick up the pieces and move on as if nothing happened.
“Obviously all play-calling is dictated by your personnel,” said Marcello. “We thought we had a few more options [with Morgan] and ran with that against East Greenwich.”

Clipper Conundrum
It hasn’t been easy deciphering where Cumberland ranks, not when the evidence includes an upset of the defending D-II champs in South Kingstown and unexpected losses to a D-IV team (Classical) and Coventry in triple overtime.
First-year head coach Chris Skurka says there’s a perfectly sound explanation to the Clippers’ Jekyll-and-Hyde traits. “We were struggling in the beginning with a new offense and defense. Everything was from scratch; nothing was retained from last year. For a senior team used to doing things for so long, it was a big learning curve. At times we’ve played well and other times we haven’t, but the season goes on. [The S.K. victory] shows what happens when we stop thinking as much and start running the plays.”
Cumberland (2-1) is locked in a four-way tie for second in D II-B, joining Lincoln, Coventry and Cranston East. Toll Gate, coached by former Cumberland quarterback William King III, ventures to Tucker Field on Friday.
  Support By The Bushel
The longest week of Carnell Henderson’s life culminated with Woonsocket surviving a penalty-fest to down Tolman on Sunday. Henderson credits his assistants for keeping things business as usual while mourning the loss of his brother, Curtis.
“My whole football family and the entire Woonsocket community wrapped their arms around me and allowed me to spend time with my immediate family,” said Henderson. “My hat goes off to my assistants for keeping the kids glued together.”

Etc., Etc.
If you’re looking for the results of Sunday’s game between Central Falls and Exeter/West Greenwich, stop. The game was shifted to Nov. 21, the result of Exeter officials not wishing to chew up the field one day after heavy rains. … This space mentioned last week the possibility of St. Raphael moving its Thanksgiving Eve game against Rogers to Cranston Stadium. The game is still on for Pariseau Field the night of Nov. 25.