Tolman has no trouble in D-III opener
PROVIDENCE – The Tolman High football team went to Hope High School and had absolutely no trouble in its Division III opener, rolling to a 54-18 win over the Blue Wave on Saturday afternoon.
Tolman spent the last two seasons in Division I before moving to D-III this season. The victory is the team’s first since defeating Shea, 14-12, on Thanksgiving Day of 2016.
The Tigers offense was led by senior quarterback Justin Klemanchuck, who passed for three touchdowns.
“He’s been phenomenal for three years,” Tolman head coach Jason DeLawrence said about Klemanchuck. “I’m happy he finally got our first victory in three years. He’s been working hard. He runs our offense. I ask him to do so much and he does it with good effort, throwing, running the ball, whatever I need him to do.”
Two of Klemanchuck’s touchdown passes went to junior wideout Isai Prince.
“I’ve been waiting for him to have a breakout game,” DeLawrence said. “I know he’s been a good receiver. He just hasn’t got his chance until this year.
"He made the catches, he made the plays. We expect that from him.”
Adding to the well-balanced offense was junior running back Jeremiah Edwards, who sadded two scores on the ground.
“He opened his eyes,” DeLawrence said. “He saw the hole. He’s a hard, solid runner, and he was able to find pay dirt.” e After forcing Hope into a three-and-out on sits opening possession, Tolman started from dthe Blue Wave 40-yard line. On first down, dKlemanchuck passed up the middle – 16 yards dto senior wide receiver Nathaniel Pona – for a efirst down. Next, Edwards rushed up the mid)dle for 24 yards and into the end zone to give rthe Tigers an early 6-0 edge with 9:10 remainhing in the first quarter. Then, on the two-point
conversion, Klemanchuck ran a keeper right einto the end zone and extended the Tigers adevantage to 8-0.
On second down of Hope’s ensuing possestsion, junior running back Malachi Flemming htook a direct snap and was sacked, causing dhim to fumble the ball, which was recovered dby Tolman senior linebacker Tim Hennigan at the Hope 25.
On first down, Klemanchuck completed a pass to Prince, who took care of the rest and upped the Tigers’ lead to 14-0.
Tolman started its next possession from the Hope 41, and on first down, Klemanchuck k threw a dart downfield to Pona and he zigzagged the rest of the way for a touchdown and ballooned the Tigers lead to 22-0 just before the end of the first quarter.
The Blue Wave answered that with a 65r yard kickoff return for a touchdown on the next play from sophomore Donnell Ferrell r and pulled within 22-6.
Tolman drove 57 yards following that, n capped by a five-yard touchdown run by Edwards that put the Tigers up 30-6 with 7:34 remaining in the first half.
Three minutes later, Klemanchuck heaved a pass to Prince, who made a leaping grab before spinning and taking it into the end zone, untouched, while helping the Tigers storm out to a 38-6 cushion.
With 1:29 left, Tolman got the ball back again and worked from its own 47.
On first down, junior running back Cute Today rushed through the belly 27 yards to the Hope 20. A foul against the Blue Wave for an illegal substitution tacked ten yards on to the end of the play, putting the ball at the 10. With 26 seconds left in the half, Today bullied his way into the end zone and gave the Tigers a 46-6 lead.
With 22 seconds still remaining in the half, Hope junior Angel Santiago-Guzman fumbled the ball during a rushing attempt and Today, who was now at defensive lineman, scooped it up and brought it into the end zone and gave Tolman a commanding 54-6 advantage as the teams headed into halftime.
The Blue Wave put together a 65-yard touchdown drive with 10:28 remaining in the fourth quarter, after senior Joe Tutu-Afriyie made a leaping interception on a pass from Tolman freshman backup quarterback Matt Patenaude.
That error gave the Blue Wave the ball at their own 35. On third down, senior running back Isaiah Feliciano rushed 54 yards, down the field, and into pay dirt and pulled Hope within 54-12 with 7:54 remaining.
After Tolman went three-and-out on its next possession, Hope freshman Elijah Diaz blocked a Tigers punt and gave Hope the ball at the Tolman 28 with 54 seconds remaining.
On second down, senior Shelton Smalls connected with Feliciano for a 20-yard gain. Next, with one second on the clock, Smalls ran a keeper left into pay dirt, and got the Blue Wave within 54-18.
While the game was a blowout, it’s still very early in the season and DeLawrence and his squad will get right back to practice next week before hosting Chariho on Friday night at Pariseau Field.
“We always can get better,” De Lawrence said. “But they came out, they executed what I asked them to do, and they came through for me.”