Clippers secure win over Knights
PROVIDENCE – Cumberland High seemed doomed on Friday night. Call it the point of no return.
Division I-B foe Central had just recorded a tying touchdown with 7:05 remaining in regulation, courtesy of Kevin Valentin’s 37-yard TD receptionn from Malik Monteiro.
When Monteiro plowed in for the two-point conversion, the Knights had apparently sealed its fate with the twopoint cushion.
Things only got worse for the Clippers, as – on the first ensuing play from scrimmage – it appeared junior tailback Jack Andrews fumbled the ball away. Refs originally called it a turnover, then ruled it CHS ball, then finally decided Central would take over at the Clippers’ 19.
Coach Josh Lima’s sideline, however, refused to yield, as did its defense. On a fourth-and-7 from the Cumberland 16, junior linebacker Jaylen Reynolds sacked Monteiro for a sixyard loss, delivering the ball back to the visitors.
Undaunted, senior signal caller Joe Leonard directed a nine-play, 78-yard drive capped by Andrews’ bullish nine-yard touchdown run up the middle.
It looked as if the Central defensive front and halted him at the 5, but his legs kept churning through more defenders before crashing into the end zone with – get this – 46 ticks left in the contest.
When Leonard caught Dante Aviles- Santos’ twopoint conversion toss in the right part of the end zone, the Clippers had finally secured a stunning, come- frombehind 20-14 verdict before perhaps 250 fans at Conley Stadium.
“I love these guys,” Lima said enthusiastically afterward. “They play their hearts out every week. I love them, and I can’t say enough about each and every one of them.”
Cumberland improved to 33 overall and 2-3 in league play, while Central, during its Homecoming, fell to 2-4 and 2-3 in I-B.
The Knights closed an 83yard, seven-play possession when Ismael Fofana snared a screen pass on the left and raced 33 yards for the score that made it 6-0. David Toure had his PAT boot blocked to keep it that way with 4:11 left in the first period.
The Clippers immediately responded, maneuvering 72 yards on 12 snaps culminated on Hayden Lacroix’s two-yard run off left tackle early in the second. It looked like senior Mike King had planted the extra point, but officials indicated it had sailed just wide right, so the score stood knotted.
The teams entered the break at 6-6, but – on the Knights’ opening snap of the third – Andrews picked off a Monteiro screen on the right and rambled 24 yards with the interception return to give Lima and Co. the 12-6 cushion.
King missed the PAT, but that only set up the drama that unfolded down the stretch.
Andrews, by the way, finished with 103 yards and a TD on 13 handles, all in the second half, not to mention one catch for nine more.
The Knights’ Chance McKinney returned the ensuing boot 65 yards to the Clippers’ 19 in the waning seconds, but junior Mason Matos made a stunning pick of a Monteiro heave at the corner of the goal line to seal the triumph.