Raiders claim D-I win over Saints
PAWTUCKET – Dino Campopiano has been coaching Shea High for well over two decades now, so he knows full well what to expect whenever he faces city rival St. Raphael Academy.
He’s known Saints’ veteran mentor Mike Sassi for nearly as long.
He understood long before the two teams met in a Division I-A showdown on Friday night that Sassi would try to establish a successful rushing attack, then expound upon it with selective passes to key receivers.
“Our game plan, as always, was to play good defense and stop their running game; they always run the ball well,” he stated.
“That’s what I saw them do against East Providence (last week, when the Saints dropped a heartbreaker in overtime). They’re big upfront and that causes problems for anybody.”
Still, what happened at the start Campopiano never expected. Junior Malik Jackson recovered Henrique Ross’ opening return just seconds into the game, giving the Raiders’ a first-and-10 situation at the Saints’ 34.
Five plays later, senior quarterback Eric Palmer found classmate Travaughn
O’Famogun open on a 38-yard pass route deep down the left sideline, and that proved to be the clinching TD in a 21-0 victory over SRA.
“I’m really proud of the way we played; it was a full-team effort, and the defense was the key,” Campopiano stated after his club improved to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in I-A play. “I thought we controlled their running game, for the most part, and they gave us some good field position at the start with the two turnovers.
“I thought that helped our offense, immensely.”
There’s no question both squads were blessed with talented, speedy and shifty rushers, but the city’s west-side school proved more successful. Junior Jaylen Smith earned 101 yards on 25 handles, while senior Greg Williams tacked on 102 all-purpose yards, including 73 on the ground (eight handles and one TD) with 29 more on the turf (three and another score).
Other key contributors included sophomore Daevon Silva (two carries, 35 yards); O’Famogun (three snags, 50 yards); and junior Trentin Curry (solo catch, nine).
All told, Shea averaged over five yards per carry (40-209) while Palmer finished with seven completions in 16 tries for 90 yards and two scores.
As for SRA (0-3, 0-2), the ground trio of Ross, freshman Napoleon DeBarros and Pride Clark combined for 136 yards on 21 touches, but it wasn’t enough. Quarterbacks Kai Meerbott and Andre Gray connected on only five of 12 pass attempts for 48 yards, and the tandem was intercepted thrice.
As stated, Ross muffed senior Dominic Majkut’s opening boot, one that traveled maybe 25 yards, and Jackson pounced it on it near the left sideline. O’Famogun scored, but Majkut’s PAT sailed wide right, so the Raiders led only by a 6-0 count 2:45 into the contest.
Sassi’s crew immediately utilized Andrew Andella’s 19-yard return of the ensuing kickoff to manage a 47-yard drive to the Shea 13, but a holding penalty brought that back.
On the very next snap, Meerbott faded back to pass, but Williams intercepted him in the right flat with six minutes left in the initial stanza.
The Raiders then chose a meticulous route to the end zone, using 13 snaps to travel from their own 21 to the SRA 32, but the possession stalled with three straight incompletions. On its next drive, Shea moved to the opponent’s 33, yet that stalled.
Following a 27-yard punt and Silva’s 11yard return, the hosts found themselves in business at the SRA 47. Eleven plays later, Williams snatched Palmer’s pass in the left flat and touched that pylon to complete a sixyard aerial.
Given the fact Majkut missed his previous PAT, Campopiano chose to try to get it with a two-point conversion. He succeeded after taking a bootleg around the left end; that made it 14-0 with a scant 15 ticks remaining before intermission.
The Raiders, who had won the toss but deferred before Game Time, took the opening kickoff of the third quarter to the SRA 35 before the latter’s defense stiffened.
Offensive coordinator Nick Landry them helped his contingent move from its own 36 to the Shea 24 before – on a fourth-and-12 – Meerbott, under duress, threw a pass to anyone he could find.
That happened to be lineman Tyler Bricault, and officials didn’t need long to whistle an “illegal receiver downfield” penalty.
The 15-yard infraction gave SHS the pigskin back at its own 40 late in the third. On the third snap of the final period, Williams exploded 31 yards off right tackle for the touchdown. In the process, he hustled past at least six defenders.
Majkut ripped the extra point to lift the Raiders to a 21-0 lead with 10:35 remaining in the final stanza.
SRA again fashioned a drive to near midfield before Williams picked off Meerbott at the Shea 34 and returned it 66 yards for the score, but an illegal block in the back canceled that.
It appeared the Saints finally would ruin Shea’s bid for a shutout when it maneuvered 61 yards to the hosts’ 13.
That came after a phenomenal 34-yard burst off right tackle from the newcomer DeBarros, a powerhouse back who plowed for 45 yards on eight carries. (Ross led the surge with 47 on five, while Clark racked up 44 on eight more).
DeBarros’ bull rush took it to the 13, but once more Shea ruined the try, as O’Famogun picked off an aerial intended for Jayden Garces in the end zone.
That came with 2:32 remaining, and the Raiders ran out the clock.
“That drive right before the (first) half, that was key; we needed that,” Campopiano noted later. “The defense was key, too … My message to the team afterwards? I just told them that I was very proud of them, that it was a true team effort.”
He hesitated, then added, “I also said, ‘Enjoy (Friday night) because we have a long, long way to go.’”