By ERIC BENEVIDES

Sports writer

PAWTUCKET --- The final score may have indicated a fairly competitive duel, but Tolman High had Friday night's Division II-A showdown with Warwick Vets High all sewed up by halftime.
Quarterback Jordan Johnson broke loose for an electrifying 76-yard touchdown run and tossed a pair of TD passes to give the Tigers a 29-0 command at the break, and the Tigers' defense pitched a shutout for close to three quarters and made life miserable for All-State quarterback Bob Bentsen in a well-played 29-18 victory at Pariseau Field that puts Tolman in the driver's seat in its bid for a playoff berth.
Now 3-2, the Tigers can grab a spot in the quarterfinals (slated for the weekend of Nov. 15 and 16) by simply capturing their final two games against teams mired at or near the basement in the standings. Next week, they will host winless Burrillville High, and in two weeks, they will bus to Bristol to take on Mount Hope High, which dropped to 1-4 after losing to West Warwick High last night.

If the Tigers finish league play with a 5-2 record, they will own the tiebreakers with the Hurricanes (3-2) and Woonsocket High (3-1), but not with West Warwick, which beat the Tigers earlier in the year and is 4-1. But the Wizards, as well as the Bulldogs, still have to play unbeaten Westerly (5-0) and the Hurricanes in their final two matchups.
"We played really well tonight," noted Tolman coach Dave Caito, whose crew entered the game with back-to-back losses to undefeated division foe Westerly High and non-league rival East Providence High and in desperate need of a win. "If we can play four quarters for the next two weeks, we should be fine. We could finish in second place."
The Tigers were better than fine on both sides of the ball. Offensively, they brought back their Single-wing offense and ran roughshod over the Hurricanes, accumulating 345 yards on the ground on 36 carries (257 of those yards coming in the first half), and defensively, their pass rush created problems for Bentsen for most of the night, and even though he ended the night throwing for 228 yards and three second-half TDs, he was sacked seven times (three by linebacker Brandon Brown) and tossed two picks.
In the first quarter, Tolman scored its first points with 3:47 on the clock on a 19-yard touchdown run by Jason Lafond (his sixth TD of the season) and the first of three extra points by Hady Coumbassa, but in the second quarter, the Tigers turned up the heat on the Hurricanes.
With 8:44 on the clock, Johnson capped a long five-minute drive by firing a six-yard touchdown pass to Allens Etienne in the middle of the end zone, and with 6:02 to play, Johnson brought the Tolman fans to their feet with his touchdown run, as he zipped through a hole on the right side of his line and broke free down the Hurricanes' sideline, outracing a pair of white jerseys to the end zone.
The Hurricanes (3-2) tried to respond with their best drive of the half, as they quickly worked the ball from their 34 to the Tigers' 27, but Bentsen was intecepted by Jordan White at the Tolman 15, and he brought the ball back to the 'Canes' 44 before getting pushed out of bounds.
Three plays later, with 53 seconds on the clock, Johnson connected with Coumbassa near the goal line for a 10-yard pass that helped give the Tigers their 29-point spread and firm control of the contest.
The Hurricanes, who produced just 95 yards of offense in the opening half, did their best to put together a miraculous comeback.
Their first touchdown came after Tolman turned the ball over on downs inside the Hurricanes' five midway through the third quarter. Bentsen tossed an eight-yard touchdown pass to Michael Bailey with 54 seconds to play in the third quarter, capping a long 11-play, 98-yard drive.
With 4:26 to play in the game, Bentsen threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to James Keach, and on the final play of the night, Peter Ruggiero reeled in a 10-yard pass from Bentsen in the corner of the end zone.
"That kid's outstanding," Caito said of Bentsen, who has 1,251 passing yards and 12 TD passes this season. "We knew we had to put pressure on him, and things worked out well when we did that in the first half."    
Johnson, meanwhile, concluded the contest with 126 yards on seven first-half carries. White also hit the 100-yard mark with 107 yards on 13 carries, and Lafond had 71 on eight handoffs.
"We haven't used our Single-wing all year," said Caito. "(Jordan) White, Ousmane (Samb), Jason Lafond, and Jordan Johnson did a great job out of the backfield, and I give a lot of credit to our offensive line for making huge holes for them."   
***
TOLMAN, 29-18
Warwick Vets  0 0 6 12 -- 18
Tolman   7 22 0 0 -- 29
T -- Jason Lafond 19 run (Hady Coumbassa kick) 
T -- Allens Etienne 6 pass from Jordan Johnson (Hady Coumbassa kick)
T -- Jordan Johnson 76 run (Jordan White run)
T -- Hady Coumbassa 10 pass from Jordan Johnson (Hady Coumbassa kick)
WV -- Michael Bailey 8 pass from Bob Bentsen (kick failed)
WV -- James Keach 2 pass from Bob Bentsen (pass failed)
WV -- Peter Ruggiero 10 pass from Bob Bentsen (time expired)

   WV  TOL
First downs  16  11
Rushes-yards  18-96  36-345
Passing   18-33-2  3-5-1
Sacked-yards  7-47  0-0
Net passing  181  45
Punts-average  2-22.0  4-29.5
Fumbles-lost  0-0  2-0  
Penalties-yards  2-10  6-45
***
Individual leaders
RUSHING: WV -- Bob Bentsen 8-55, Peter Ruggiero 6-33, Colin Perkins 3-8, Kevin Dale 1-0. T -- Jordan Johnson 7-126, Jordan White 13-107, Jason Lafond 8-71, Ousmane Samb 7-34, Lance Brown 1-7. 
PASSING: WV -- Bob Bentsen 18-33-2-228. T -- Jordan Johnson 3-5-1-45.
RECEIVING: WV -- Jared Coffey.6-80, Peter Ruggiero 3-34, Ryan Tice 2-52, David Wentworth 2-26, James Keach 1-18, Joshua Bennett 1-11, Michael Bailey 1-8, Sy Pires 1-2, Mike Williams 1-(-4).