Saints fall to Townies in overtime
bmcgair@pawtuckettimes.com
EAST PROVIDENCE — The game was over, or so everyone at Pierce Field thought.
Down eight points in overtime and down to its final play, the St. Raphael football team received another chance after East Providence was flagged for a personal foul on fourth down. Needing to make one more play, the Townies’ Adam Martins-Carroll came up with a sack of SRA quarterback Kai Meerbott that clinched a 15-7 win for EP in the Division I-A opener for both schools on Friday night.
EP’s defense took care of St. Raphael in the extra session after Townie quarterback Justin Pena found a soft seam in the Saints’ defense. Pena used his feet to net a five-yard touchdown, his second score of the contest, then hooked up with senior Dion Hazard for a twopoint conversion.
“On the touchdown play, somebody went to the wrong assignment and left the quarterback open. We always take care of the quarterback first,” SRA head coach Mike Sassi said.
St. Raphael managed just seven points, yet Sassi saw plenty of good things as the Saints employed a smashmouth attack. The unit suffered a major loss after Devin O’Malley left the game in the second quarter.
“He was running hard and an East Providence player dove into the back of his leg after the play was over. It was a big loss,” Sassi said. “He’s our top tailback and was ripping off six, seven yards a carry.”
The Townies were penalized three times for the same infraction – illegal procedure – during the team’s first and
only possession of the opening quarter. SRA held the ball for the final 6:02 of what was a scoreless first quarter and were aided by an offsides infraction on East Providence that moved the chains on fourth-and-one from the Saints’ 43-yard line.
Later in the same drive, EP committed a helmet-to-helmet personal foul that advanced the ball inside the home team’s 10-yard line. By the time the first quarter drew to a close, the Townies committed had already five penalties.
SRA’s O’Malley capped off an 11play drive when he ran untouched up the middle and covered 10 yards, the touchdown coming on the first play of the second quarter. East Providence didn’t wait long before tying the score at seven.
The Townies covered 82 yards in just four plays with Hazard covering 62 yards on an impressive that saw the senior break away from the pack while sprinting pass his own bench. Pena called his own number from five yards out to make it 7-7 with 9:29 left before halftime.
St. Raphael responded to the East Providence touchdown with a 12-play drive that fizzled out at the Townie 26. Midway through the third quarter, the Saints had a golden chance after forcing the Townies to punt out of their end zone and taking over at the EP 21. East Providence rose to the challenge as SRA turned the ball over on downs after managing just three yards.
The Townies’ defense, once again, stood tall in the fourth quarter. St. Raphael began a drive at its own 12 and maintained possession for close to six minutes. After stopping the Saints on third-and-3 from the 14, the Townies corralled Meerbott on fourth down.
East Providence had something going but St. Raphael’s Andrew Andella came away with an interception at his team’s 20-yard line with exactly one minute remaining in regulation. The Saints elected to play it close to the vest and take their chances in overtime, where the Townies had the ball first.
Now 0-1 in league play and 0-2 overall, the Saints will head to Max Read Field next Friday night to face Shea. St. Raphael 0 – 7 – 0 – 0 – 0 --- 7
East Providence 0 – 7 – 0 – 0 – 8 --- 15
SRA – Devin O’Malley 10 run (Joseph Osmanski kick) EP – Justin Pena 5 run (Devin Baptista kick)
EP – Pena 5 run (Hazard pass from Pena)