Warriors remain unbeaten
Alvarado scores two touchdowns in win over Tiverton
Central Falls Director of Athletics Anthony Ficocelli, who also happens to be the Warriors’ offensive coordinator, has come up with different mottos to help motivate the squad as they deal with their season-long road trip.
As the Warriors began preparing for a long trip to Tiverton Saturday night, Ficocelli told the squad “This week, we break the streak.”
“In our coaching tenure together at Central Falls, which has been about 14 years, we have lost every matchup against Tiverton,” Central Falls coach Jeff Lapierre said Sunday morning. “We have not had any success against them. They used to be our Thanksgiving rival and it was a long ride there early in the morning. I know Tiverton is always a well-coached football team that is always prepared.”
The Warriors finally broke the streak Saturday night, as Jordan Alvarado rushed for a pair of touchdowns, Dutchie Arroyo rushed for a touchdown and junior speedster Leonardo DaVeiga scored on an 80-yard kickoff return in a 31-18 victory to keep the Warriors undefeated
“The best feeling is to beat someone else on their home field.” – CF coach Jeff Lapierre
in Division III.
“We had some veteran players who played well and we capitalized on our opportunities,” Lapierre said.
Central Falls (3-0 Division III) has now posted road victories over North Smithfield/Mount St. Charles, North Providence and the Tigers to close in on a return to the playoffs. The Warriors will make their next road trip to Warwick Vets Friday night at 6 p.m. to take on a Toll Gate team smarting from a blowout loss to Burrillville.
The Warriors know a victory over the Titans (2-1 Division III) will nearly clinch a spot in the playoffs and set up a first-place showdown with the reigning Division III champion Broncos at the end of the month at Alumni Field.
“The best feeling is to beat someone else on their home field,” Laiperre said. ‘The crowd just goes silent when CF scores on their flash plays. Often times teams will, strategically, put the road team in front of the stands for the crowd noise. We’ve hushed a few crowds and that’s a credit to how hard our guys have played.” For the third straight week, the Warriors had a player score at least two touchdowns. In the opening week of the league season, Arroyo scored four touchdowns in a win over the Northmen, while DaVeiga notched a hat trick of touchdowns two weeks ago against North Providence.
Saturday, it was Alvarado’s chance to shine. After showing some promise early last season as a sophomore, Alvarado worked hard in the offseason, according to Lapierre, to help the Warriors this sea- son. Alvarado scored a pair of rushing touchdowns to sink the Tigers.
“That kid never stops,” Lapierre said. “He’s such a sparkplug who never stops. He constantly wants to be a part of the play. He has tremendous energy. He just adds such a tremendous dimension to this team. We have Dutchie and we have DaVeiga, so right now we’re becoming a handful for teams offensively.”