By ERIC BENEVIDES

Sports writer

CRANSTON --- Mike Sassi got just what he wanted in his team’s opener on Friday night -- a tough non-league test against a quality veteran club that the St. Raphael Academy head coach believes could pass as a Division I team.
But what Sassi didn’t want was the inclement weather that soaked Cranston Stadium or the sloppy play his Saints turned in against Cranston East High.
The Saints turned the ball over seven times and teamed up with the ’Bolts to commit over 210 yards of penalties in an ugly 27-13 setback before a sparse gathering that braved the elements.    
The host ’Bolts, who brought back nine starters on offense and their entire defense from a squad that qualified for the postseason last season with a 6-2 mark in the Division II-B ranks, received three touchdown runs from senior tailback Jamey Scheer in their victory.
But the win was plagued by 13 penalties that were good for 120 yards, and two of the penalties were 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalties by head coach Tom Centore in the second half that resulted in his ejection.
The Saints got off to a woeful start in the opening half of this contest, which was delayed for 40 minutes due to lightning. They turned the ball over four times on their first six possessions and produced just one yard of offense in the first quarter, yet went into the half down by an 18-13 score.
The Thunderbolts seized a 12-0 lead in the first quarter, as a pair of fumbles by the Saints led to a pair of one-yard touchdown runs by Scheer.
The Saints broke on the board 2:35 into the second half when Vasey hooked up with Roussel on a 49-yard pass play that saw Roussel reel in a pass near the ’Bolts 30 and sprint across the field and around a group of green jerseys and teammate Alex Pavao on his way to the end zone.
Unfortunately for the visitors, the ’Bolts got those six points back with 5:53 to play in the half when a pooch punt by Vasey at the Saints’ 18 was blocked by the ’Bolts and recovered in the end zone by linebacker Derek Plomaritis.
But the Saints cut their deficit to five before the break when Vasey tossed an 8-yard touchdown pass to Roussel in the middle of the end zone and Julian Diaz kicked the extra point. That score capped a 14-play, 74-yard drive that took more than six minutes off the clock. 
But the Saints couldn’t carry that momentum into the second half and ended up totaling negative-seven yards of offense and no drives past their own 35-yard line in the final 24 minutes of play.
They also saw their fifth turnover of the night turn into two points for their hosts, when with 3.1 seconds to play in the third quarter and the Saints on their own one-yard line (no thanks to a 35-yard punt by the hosts), Roussel took a handoff from Vasey in the end zone and was tackled for a safety. 
Scheer’s final touchdown run came on a two-yard sprint with 2:26 to play in the game.