By BRENDAN McGAIR

Sports writer

CRANSTON – You could say St. Raphael Academy head coach Mike Sassi has a firm handle on what his football can and can’t do.
“We’re not going to smash with people in this league,” said Sassi following SRA’s 20-13 setback to Cranston West Friday night at Cranston Stadium. “We’re too small and we don’t have the depth.”
Save for Jean Roussel (two scores, 93 yards on 12 handoffs), SRA’s rushing game was virtually non-existent. That left it up to quarterback Trevor Vasey, who finished 10-of-32 for 102 – 44 of which came on SRA’s final drive with the clock fastly approaching zero.
Asked about the performance of the passing game, Sassi assessed, “We dropped a lot of balls. The tough thing as a coach is that the plays are there, but we’re just not executing.”
It didn’t take long for the Saints to engage in playing-from-behind mode. The Falcons took it to the house on the opening kickoff, Kane Terilli positioning himself behind a wall of blockers before kicking it up a notch as he crossed midfield. The play covered 75 yards and evaporated just 13 seconds off the scoreboard.
“I need to play some young guys on the kickoff team to try and get my starters some kind of blow,” said Sassi. “It cost us tonight.”
SRA’s special teams’ unit experienced another dubious moment later in the quarter when Efrain Greco muffed a punt attempt, the ball ever-so-touching his leg before falling into a pile of eager-to-pounce Falcons. Cranston West would march down the field, going up by 14 points on Terilli’s second score of the quarter, a 10-yard run.
SRA got on the scoreboard two plays into the second quarter when Roussel, a senior, broke free and rumbled 49 yards untouched. The Saints managed just two yards in the first quarter and failed to capitalize on a Nael Pierre-Louis interception that brought the ball inside the Cranston West 5.
The Saints tried a new wrinkle in the third quarter, unveiling a ‘Wildcat’ formation that featured Vasey lining up on the outside. Sassi said the change was a result of Cranston West blitzing far more than they were originally expecting. Roussel brought the Saints to within one on a two-yard running score, capping off an eight-play, 56-yard drive.  
Cranston West widened its lead on the ensuing possession, Terilli breaking free for his third score of the game, a 28-yard run that gave the Falcons (1-1) a seven-point cushion heading into the final quarter.
The two sides alternated possessions with SRA’s last gasp starting at the West 48 with 1:13 to go. A 30-yard completion to Roussel on fourth drive kept the Saints’ hopes alive. They moved the ball as deep as the Falcon 4 before a sack by West’s Jason Mollo ended all hopes with four seconds left.   
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CRANSTON WEST, 20-13
St. Raphael    0 7 6 0 -- 13
Cranston West    14 0 6 – 20
CW – Kane Terilli 75 kickoff return (Bryan Stetson kick)
CW – Terilli 9 run (Stetson kick
SRA – Jean Roussel 49 run (Julian Diaz kick)
SRA – Roussel 2 run (kick failed)
CW – Terilli 28 run (kick failed)

SRA                CW
First downs               12            12
Rushes-yards            23-148        50-231
Passing                 10-31-0          2-7-1-27
Sacks by                    1-7            1-10
Net passing                92            20   
Punts-avg.                    4-27.2            3-27.0
Fumbles-lost             1-1             2-0             
Pen.-yards                6-26            2-10
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St. Raphael stats
Rushing: SRA – Jean Roussel 12-93, Patrick Miranda 4-3, Nael Pierre-Louis 4-41,
Ricardo Pognon 2-7, Trevor Vasey 1-4.
Passing: SRA – Trevor Vasey 10-32-0-102.
Receiving: SRA – Jean Roussel 3-50,  Nael Pierre-Woods 4-29, Cory Cotter 2-23, Ricardo Pognon 1-0.