CRANSTON – Dave Caito incorporated past glories into his game plan for Tolman’s Super Bowl clash with defending champ South Kingstown, set for a 6 p.m. kickoff at Cranston Stadium. More specifically, Caito, the Tigers head coach, tapped several key members from the program’s Super Bowl-winning campaign of 2004 and plans to have them address the current edition prior to boarding the bus.
“Jeff Costa, Cory Parker and Ryan Worthington are going to come down,” said Caito. “They have won a Super Bowl and can actually tell, four years later, how it affects their lives.”
The Costa-Parker-Worthington-led Tigers are regarded as the group that created the notion that winning is a habit, not a flash in the pan. Their success helped spearhead a winning era as this evening marks the third time in five seasons Tolman has played for the opportunity to become crowned champs.
Bridging the past to the present is a motivational device Caito hopes can amp up his club against a South Kingstown squad that defines stingy. The Rebels permitted only 39 points in seven league games, recording one of their two shutouts against Shea (24-0) on Nov. 1.
“Those names are forever going to be etched into my mind because they were all tough kids,” Caito said. “They put Tolman football on the map and (the 2008 Tigers) hope to continue the tradition.”
Asked what inspiring words he has up his sleeve, Costa, a ’05 Tolman graduate, answered “Go out there, have fun and don’t give up.  The guys see how much we cared. They see how into it we get and try to live up to what we were.”
Costa knows a thing or two about playing right up until the final gun sounds. The former All-State quarterback threw an interception late in the Super Bowl against Cumberland, a pick he dubbed “could have cost us the game.” Redemption arrived soon after when Costa threaded a game-winning score to Jon Dawson, putting Tolman ahead to stay, 20-19.
Costa remembers Caito referencing Tolman’s Class A titlist from ’71 quite a bit in the days leading up to the Super Bowl with Cumberland. The message: you are not only playing just to be called champions for this season, but to also join select company. This present batch of Tigers is looking to expand the list and join their gridiron brethren of yesteryear.
“They are striving to join us,” said Costa, currently an infielder at Rhode Island College.

While this will be Costa’s first foray into delivering a “Win one for the Gipper” speech prior to a game (it’s common for Caito to let his former signal caller talk at halftime), the same cannot be said as Tolman’s unofficial quarterbacks coach. Under that capacity, Costa zeros in on the current Tiger under center, Jordan Johnson.
Johnson, who has accrued four touchdowns in two playoff contests, has someone in Costa who understands the language and can speak from experience about what awaits. The idea is that Costa mixes in his critiques of Johnson along with a dose of self-assuredness.
“When I watched Jordan in the Thanksgiving game (a 39-6 Raiders’ romp), he looked flustered in the pocket,” said Costa. “I’ll usually look over his mechanics and go over the different coverages, but I’ll also give him confidence.”
Johnson and the rest of his teammates on offense will undoubtedly need all the pointers they can get. “Defensively (SK) comes at you with blitzes,” said Caito. “We’ve got to make sure we’ve got a (running) back to pick up.”
The Rebels’ main scheme is the Wing-T formation, a misdirection offense that relies on precision and timely blocking. The good news is that Tolman has practice combating this potentially explosive attack, falling to Cranston West (16-14 on Sept. 12) and soundly beating Mt. Hope (28-0 on Nov. 7).
“We know what’s coming, we know what formation they’re going to throw at us,” said Caito. “If you don’t stop the scheme, it can get pretty demoralizing, first down after first down.”
SK’s Tim Hazard is the primary ball-carrier with 1,388 yards and 16 touchdowns while quarterback Ben Hamill has tossed for a shade less than 1,000 yards and 14 scores.
“They aren’t a throwing team, so we want to put them in a situation where they’ve got to throw,” said Caito. “That’s what we did (last Tuesday in the semis) against Cumberland. We got on them early so they couldn’t put their running game back in.”
Caito is 2-2 coaching in playoff games held at tonight’s site. The Tigers were unable to defend their ’04 title, losing to Cranston East in the big game a year later. Last season saw East topple Tolman in the semis, but the Tigers returned the favor last month in a defensive struggle, prevailing by a 7-0 final.
“This is our rubber match,” notes Caito. “Hopefully we can leave there with a victory.”