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CF gridders remain in playoff hunt |
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Monday, 27 October 2008 |
By ERIC BENEVIDES
SCITUATE ---- Before Central Falls High could firmly set its sights on its upcoming showdown with North Providence High, the Warriors had to get through a tough, improved Scituate High squad on Saturday morning at Caito Field.
And the Spartans, who like the Warriors, needed to capture this Division IV battle in order to stay in the playoff hunt, gave their visitors a run for their money for close to three quarters.
But the Warriors, who received a record performance by senior quarterback Cory Cassamas, broke open a tight duel by scoring three touchdowns in the final 13 1/2 minutes of play and bused out of Caito Field with an important 34-13 victory.
Cassamas added another chapter to his marvelous season by completing 20 of his 35 passes for 273 yards and five touchdowns, and according to CF head coach Mo Jackson, set two school records.
Not only did Cassamas become the first quarterback in the team's history to air out five touchdown passes, he also set the single-season record with TD passes with 21.
"This is a very big win," said Jackson, who presented the game ball to Cassamas after the contest. "Cory had a nice game and the rest of our offense really played well, and I'm also happy with the way our defense played. It's a big win and we're almost there. We have a big game against North Providence and it's going to be for the playoffs."
That showdown takes place on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. on the Cougars' Homecoming Day. If the Warriors (3-3) defeat NP (3-2), they will move into a tie for fourth place in the standings (with one game left in the division against winless North Smithfield High) and own the head-to-head tiebreaker should both teams finish with the same mark at the end of the season, but if the Cougars win, the Warriors will be ousted from the playoff chase.
If the Warriors plan to defeat the Cougars, they will surely need a stellar performance from their defense, which had endured its share of nightmares and entered the day allowing more than 33 points per game, but put forth its finest showing of the year against the Spartans (2-4). Not only did the Warriors allow a season-low in points, they allowed just 184 yards of offense and forced six turnovers, three on fumble recoveries.
"I thought the defense played really well," admitted Jackson. "We were bending, but we weren't breaking. We had a couple of blown assignments, but other than that, we played well."
Unfortunately, the morning didn't get off to a wonderful start off for the defense. The hosts got great field position on the game's opening kickoff and needed just 3:37 of the clock to get into the end zone, as fullback Joe Notorantonio stormed into the end zone from the Warriors' three to cap an eight-play, 53-yard drive.
The Spartans then pooch-kicked the ensuing kickoff to the Warriors, who fumbled the ball to their hosts at their 32, and for the moment, it looked like it was going to be a long day for CF.
But on the following play, the Warriors got the ball back when Robert Alers picked off quarterback Dan Pugliese at the 18 and brought the ball to midfield. And three plays later, Cassamas fired his first TD pass when he hooked up for a 47-yard pass play with Antonio Mena, who stiff-armed a Scituate defensive back at the five and carried another one on his back as he dove for the right pilon.
Neither team made good on their conversion attempts, and the score remained knotted at 6-6 until the final seconds of the half. After the Spartans couldn't make good on a fake punt near midfield with 3:30 on the clock, the Warriors drove from the Spartans' 48 to the end zone and seized the lead with 7.4 seconds to play on a 10-yard TD pass from Cassamas to Alers, who made a nice acrobatic catch in the left corner of the end zone with Notorantonio in his face.
Cassamas then gave the Warriors a 14-6 cushion by hitting Emmanuel Versailles with a two-point conversion pass in the middle of the end zone.
The Spartans answered back with the next touchdown with 4:14 on the clock in the third quarter on an eight-yard TD run by Matt Winfield, but instead of trying to tie the game with a two-point conversion attempt, Scituate coach Mark Reed decided to try for the extra point and got it off the foot of Peter Sugrue.
Unfortunately for Reed, his troops never made it back into the end zone and only got as far as the Warriors' 27 with 2 1/2 minutes to play in the game and the visitors comfortably ahead by three touchdowns.
After Winfield's touchdown, the Warriors quickly came back with one of their own. A superb 37-yard kickoff return by Eric Wilcox gave the Warriors the ball at the Spartans' 37, and five Cassamas completions later, CF made it a 21-13 game on a four-yard pass from Cassamas to Mena, who made a nice diving catch near the right pilon with 1:39 to go in the quarter, and the extra point by Jason Giron.
The Warriors soon began to pull away from the Spartans. With 9:32 to play in the game, Cassamas found Alers with an 18-yard touchdown pass in the left corner of the end zone, and with 5:37 on the clock, Cassamas inked his name in the CF record book with a 10-yard TD pass to Jean Carlos Avila.
While it was a great day for Cassamas, it was an equally superb morning for his standout junior receiving tandem of Mena and Alers. Both hauled in seven receptions, with Mena picking up 109 yards and Alers recording 86, and while Cassamas leads the state in touchdown passes and passing yards (1,462), Alers (485) and Mena (465) are among the leaders in receiving yards.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 29 October 2008 )
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Best wishes to the Tigers tonight in the SuperBowl! - Celeste Swaim-Black
Good Luck to the Woodlawn basketball teams in their CYO
games this weekend!! - From all the coach's I wish the best to the Warriors on Saturday game keep up the
great work team. George Carle auntie Ne-Ne is proud Happy hoildays from The Carle &
Pettaway Family........
Good Luck Girls Basketball Tolman Tigers lets kick some
courts... YEA JENNA !!!!!Keep it going!! - Carols Ayala go sentinells THE CHAMPIONS ON ICE DIVISON 2 VINNIE (TEDDY
BEAR) TUDINO.LOVE POPA - Anthony Paolino
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