PROVIDENCE – Bring on league play, its arrival officially commencing the defense of their Super Bowl crown.
While teams around the state teed the ball up for real over the weekend, St. Raphael Academy held one final dress rehearsal at the expense of Division III Central High, 34-8, at Conley Stadium on Saturday night. The Saints, which rebounded after falling in a non-leaguer to Cranston East High the previous week, embark on their D-I journey this coming Friday when Cranston West High comes to Pariseau Field.
In an unusual scheduling quirk, the Saints received this past weekend as their open date. Instead of counting down the minutes and engaging in-house scrimmages, SRA head coach Mike Sassi was receptive to the idea of removing the bye from bye week. Sassi found a willing dance partner in Central, whom SRA faced last fall.
From Sassi’s vantage point, getting in an extra game, regardless of the competition, can serve as a prime teaching tool for his wet-behind-the-ears squad. With so many faces replacing last season’s championship heroes, every snap can help bridge the gap from the current inexperienced lot the Saints currently are to the playoff squad Sassi is hoping for.
“I think we took a step in the right direction [Saturday], but being a young team, there are still some things we need to clean up,” said Sassi. “We were able to get (the reserves) a lot of work, which was real important for us.
“I think the potential in our room is there,” Sassi continued. “I think we have enough talent to be a competitive playoff team in Division I, but it’s a matter of putting it all together.”
 Even though the Saints piled up well over 200 yards rushing and junior Jean-Daniel Roussel was a one-man highlight show with four touchdowns

(two rushing, one receiving, one punt return), there were still reminders that Sassi is trying to infuse a host of newcomers.
One touchdown was wiped out due to an ineligible receiver. Though the Saints didn’t surrender a Knights touchdown until late in the fourth quarter, the coaches spent much of the game reminding the players of their defensive assignments, specifically where they’re supposed to line up.
Patience has been a referendum Sassi has stood by and will continue to lean upon moving forward.  “My hair has gotten a lot whiter in the last month; it’s like a tidal wave, up and down,” he said. “We’re just so green on defense; our tackling could have been better.”
The talent that Sassi speaks highly of glistened in the opening half as SRA raced out to a 19-0 lead. Roussel was responsible for all three touchdowns, twice scoring on runs from 15 and eight yards away. His final score came through the air as Roussel got the step on the Central secondary, hauling in a 32-yard strike from quarterback Tyler Malo, who completed five passes for 102 yards.
Roussel capped off his electrifying evening with a 51-yard punt return early in the third quarter. He totaled up 123 rushing/receiving yards on not even a dozen touches. Roussel served as the No. 1 ball carrier with Nael Pierre-Louis sitting Saturday out with an injury.
“He’s deadly in the open field,” said Sassi. “Jean got some great experience at running back and now we know we have a backup.”
Senior Marques Mosby was the standout defensively for the Saints, recording two interceptions. His first pick, which occurred in the end zone, helped stall out a Central drive at the SRA 8.
“That was very good experience defending our red zone at that point,” said Sassi.
The lop-sided affair afforded Sassi the chance to take a deeper look at his roster. Sophomore Zach Sullivan served as the primary tailback in the second half, rushing for 39 yards, three coming on a score.
Sassi felt his club wore down against Cranston East. The conclusions drawn were to shake up practice and feature conditioning exercises at the onset rather at the conclusion.
“We tried to practice tired this week,” Sassi said. “It made for some frustrating practices, but in the long run I think it can help us a bit. We still need to get into better shape than we are now but I think we’re going in the right direction.”
That direction officially points toward league competition. The Saints had members of their coaching staff checking out the Cranston West-East Providence game and the Hendricken-Portsmouth contest over the weekend. In a year that seems to lack a clear-cut favorite, every league member is worth paying attention to.
“I think the whole division is a toss-up,” agreed Sassi. “We like how we match up, but we’ll see.”