By ERIC BENEVIDES

Sports writer

PAWTUCKET --- After a quarter of play, it looked like it was going to become a runaway.
But when the game was finally in the books, St. Raphael Academy's non-league season opener against Cranston East High ended up turning into a disappointing defeat.
Down by a 15-0 score 9 1/2 minutes into the game, the visiting Thunderbolts answered back with three touchdowns in a five-minute span midway through the game and blanked the Saints the rest of the way en route to a 23-15 victory on Saturday before a large gathering at Pariseau Field.
Senior fullback Albert Duran, the 'Bolts' only returning offensive starter for Cranston East, banged and bumped his way for 106 yards and touchdown on 17 carries to guide the visitors, who picked up 198 of their 256 yards of real estate on the ground and committed just two turnovers in the game.

The setback was a difficult one for the young Saints, who graduated 17 starters from last season's unbeaten Division 1 championship squad. They turned the ball over six times, produced just 66 yards of offense from the second quarter to the final minute of the contest, and stumbled over mistakes that ranged from dropped passes and sure interceptions to missed assignments.
"I think we showed our inexperience tonight," added SRA coach Mike Sassi. "I don't know if we were relaxed because we had the lead. We had guys cramping up in the second half, and Cranston East wasn't cramping up. And we had a chance to make plays. We dropped a pass that could have been a touchdown pass. We dropped an interception that might have been a touchdown back the other way. And some of our snaps really killed us."
The Saints could do no wrong in the early going as they stormed out to their 15-0 command on a magnificent 80-yard touchdown dash by junior tailback Nael Pierre-Louis 6:03 into the game and an equally electrifying 49-yard interception return by Ricardo Pognon with 3:22 to play in the first quarter. Sophomore Trevor Vasey also added an extra point and caught the 'Bolts off-guard with a surprise two-point conversion attempt to Evan Haworth.
They also had a golden opportunity to extend their lead in the initial stages of the second quarter. A 41-yard pass from quarterback Tyler Malo to Marques Mosby on the final play of the first quarter gave SRA a first-and-goal at the visitors' 10, but they could only manage five yards on the ground before turning the ball over on downs.
"We had a chance to put them away," remarked Sassi. "It's 15-0, we're on their 5-yard line, and we have to score right there. Whenever you have a chance, you have to smell the end zone when you're in the red zone."
Instead, the game remained a two-possession game until the 'Bolts, who were pinned inside their 20 on their next two possession, finally broke on the board. With 37 seconds left in the half, quarterback Brian Converse hooked up with a wide-open Jonathan Alves-Cortes on a 52-yard touchdown pass in the middle of the field and Jaquan Scripsack added the extra point to make it a 15-7 affair at the break.    
The Saints got the ball on their 20 to kick off the second half, but on their second play, they fumbled the ball on a bad snap from center and Duran quickly pounced on the loose ball on the SRA eight from his linebacker position.
Two plays later, Duran barreled his way into the end zone on a four-yard run, and the 'Bolts then tied the contest on a two-point conversion pass from Converse to Chris Perrotta, who caught the ball with a diving grab near the right pilon. 
The Saints tried to battle back on their next series, but soon found themselves facing a fourth-and-10 from their 43 and needing to punt. But again, the Saints were victimized by a bad snap that sailed over the head of punter Alex Collette, who ended up pouncing on the loose ball at the SRA 12 before getting smothered by a group of white jerseys.  
On the 'Bolts' very first play, Marco Jones scored on a 12-yard run by racing around the right pilon. The visitors' extra-point attempt failed, but with 7:33 still to play in the third quarter, the Thunderbolts were able to savor a lead.
And from that point on, the Thunderbolts did their best to keep the Saints pinned in their end of the field. On their next three series, the Saints were unable to work the ball past their own 25, and on their second possession (just moments after Kyle Sequin extinguished a 'Bolts scoring drive by recovering a fumble at the Saints' two), Malo got sacked in the back of the end zone by Mario Marzialle for a safety with 1:33 to play in the third quarter.
The Saints did make one last-ditch spirited drive in the game's final 34 seconds when Malo connected on four passes for 68 yards to bring the Saints from their 20 to the Thunderbolts' 12, but time ran out on the drive and the contest when Jean Roussel was tackled on the 12 after catching a 17-yard pass and trying to lateral the ball to a teammate.
Malo, who quarterbacked the Saints (in place of injured R.I. Player of the Year Stanley Dunbar) to their two postseason  victories last year, threw for 166 yards on 9-of-23 passing and hooked up early and often with Mosby (4 receptions-124 yards) and Roussel (3-32). Pierre-Louis finished the game with 106 yards on 14 carries, but only ran for 10 yards in the final three quarters.
The Saints are back in action next Saturday with another non-league contest at 6 p.m. at Providence's Conley Stadium against Central High. Their Division I opener isn't until Friday, Sept. 26, at Pariseau Field against Cranston West High. 

CRANSTON EAST, 23-15
Cranston East  0 7 16 0 -- 23
St. Raphael  15 0 0 0 -- 15
SRA -- Nael Pierre-Louis 80 run (Evan Haworth pass from Trevor Vasey)
SRA -- Ricardo Pognon 49 interception return (Trevor Vasey kick)
CE -- Jonathan Alves-Cortes 52 pass from Brian Corvese (Jaquan Scripsack kick)
CE -- Albert Duran 4 run (Chris Perrotta pass from Brian Corvese)
CE -- Marco Jones 12 run (kick failed)
CE -- Safety, Mario Marzialle sacked Tyler Malo in back of end zone

   CE  SRA
First downs  12  8
Rushes-yards  43-198  18-105
Passing   2-8-1  9-23-1
Net passing  164  47
Sacks-yards  1-2  1-11
Fumbles-lost  3-1  3-1
Penalties-yards  3-15  7-43
Punts-average  6-29.5  2-29.0
***
Individual statistics
RUSHING: CE -- Albert Duran 17-106, Marvin Taveras 11-51, Marco Jones 4-23, Brian Corvese 1-4, Nick Marchard 3-3, Robin Cameron 7-1, SRA -- Nael Pierre-Louis 14-106, Tyler Malo 3-3, Jean Roussel 1-(-4).
PASSING: CE -- Brian Corvese 2-8-1-58. SRA -- Tyler Malo 9-23-1-166.
RECEIVING: CE -- Jonathan Alves-Cortes 2-58. SRA -- Marques Mosby 4-124, Jean Roussel 3-32, Alex Pavao 1-10, Ricardo Pognon 1-0.