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For Tolman football team, youth movement is on |
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Monday, 28 September 2009 |
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By BRENDAN McGAIR Sports writer Dave Caito has been at the helm at Tolman High for 10 seasons. So why did Friday’s 18-14 triumph against Chariho High have that fresh aura to it?
“We have a lot of young guys, five sophomores who are starters, and have only three (players) with varsity experience, both offensively and defensively,” Caito was saying. “For those guys to get their first varsity win … they were ecstatic afterwards.”
While the players reveled in their conquest of the Chargers, Caito and his fellow coaches exhaled. It certainly hasn’t been smooth sailing for the Tigers, not when the opening two games saw them get outscored by a convincing 46-8 margin.
Caito wasn’t kidding around when he said to expect wholesale changes after a disheartening 21-0 setback to Cranston West. Like ushering in a New Year, Tolman bid adieu with old, more seasoned players while handing their spots off to eager bunch of underclassmen.
Caito reaffirmed his decision to breath fresh life into the program over the weekend, admitting simultaneously he expected some stumbling blocks to occur along the way. That’s simply a byproduct of “rolling with young guys.” The coach then said he wouldn’t be a surprised if even more Tigers – Tigers who weren’t in the mix back in August – emerge as the season progresses.
“We have an outstanding ninth grade team that has almost 40 members,” Caito proudly stated. “I would rather coach kids for three years and take our lumps with the belief things eventually pay off.”
Caito provided an example of how coaching youngsters can cause the blood pressure of a coaching staff to drastically rise. “We were fortunate to get the [Chariho] win with all the penalties and mental errors we had. The game came down to the last play and a sophomore, No. 75 [Dion Rubio], intercepted the ball. It showed just how young we are because he started running with the ball with 30 seconds left. All he has to do is fall down. He fumbled the ball, but we recovered.
“It’s agita, but they’re young and they’ll learn.”
One of the few Tolman seniors Caito still counts on is quarterback Jahmel Bowman. All Bowman did against the Chargers was pass for two scores and dash 38 yards for another. Tolman normally employs a two-man system at quarterback. Those plans were scrapped when it was learned the other half of the tandem, Jordan Johnson, would be sidelined with a concussion.
“Bowman didn’t come off the field and was outstanding for us,” praised Caito.
Certainly it’s much easier to return to the practice field with the memories of a hard-fought victory still burning bright. Caito resisted the urge last week of labeling the Chariho game a must win, not wanting to heap extra pressure on his wet-behind-the-ears squad. He knew, however, that a loss would place the Tigers in a precarious position at 0-2 in Division II-A.
“We would have not made the playoffs if we had lost that game,” added Caito.
Tolman isn’t out of the woods just yet as Saturday’s date with Woonsocket High at Barry Field looms large. Currently there are three teams in II-A (West Warwick High, Mt. Hope High, Westerly High) sporting 2-0 marks. Since the Tigers and Villa Novans are each 1-1, the outcome could go a long way solidifying who plays meaningful football come mid-November.
Saints Marching … to Cranston?
According to one source, St. Raphael Academy is attempting to relocate the venue for its Thanksgiving Eve contest against Rogers. The preference is the synthetic surface at Cranston Stadium, for the feeling is that Pariseau Field turf would be too chewed up by Nov. 25, the date the contest is slated for.
Booking Cranston Stadium wouldn’t appear to be a major issue since Cranston East and West, the building’s primary high school football tenants, square off on Thanksgiving morn. Another good reason why SRA is seeking to play elsewhere is that Tolman and Shea are in line to play inside McCoy Stadium on Nov. 25. Talk about a potential parking nightmare with three football communities gathering in a confined space!
Athletic officials from St. Raphael, Rogers and Cranston are expected to crystallize plans sometime this week.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 18 October 2009 )
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