Raiders, Clippers meet in Division I showdown
Shea, Burrillville, North Smithfield/MSC, Central Falls go into weekend undefeated
PAWTUCKET – Not surprisingly, both Shea High veteran chief Dino Campopiano and Cumberland head coach Josh Lima decided to pull out of their interview playbooks their best Bill Belichick impressions this week.
The unbeaten Raiders (3-0 overall, 2-0 in Division I-A) will travel to Tucker Field at 7 tonight to meet the Clippers, who notched an impressive 14-0 triumph over East Providence last weekend to improve to 1-1 in I-A action (1-2 overall), and – as far as Campopiano’s concerned – no other opponent exists.
At least not now.
“Right now, I’m focused on (Friday) night; that’s all,” he stated during a recent practice on the Max Read Field turf. “I don’t want to talk about us, what’s been pleasing me (with our first-ever start in the state’s highest, most competitive league), what’s thrilled me or upset me. We just have to play really focused.
“We have to limit our mistakes because you make mistakes against really good teams, and Cumberland is a really good team,” he continued. “This is the fourth week in a row we’ve faced a really good team. Cumberland’s offensive line is really big, and they can control the ball. The running backs run very hard, and they’re aggressive. Their line blocks very well, so we’re going to have to be able to control their ground game.
“Defensively, again, they’re bit up front; they get off the ball quickly, and their linebackers read the plays well. Those guys just fly to the ball.”
In a similar effort not to offer any pre-game “bulletin-board” material, Lima went out of his way to praise Campopiano’s crew.
“They’re a very, very good team, really athletic,” he mentioned. “I think Dino does a really good job with those guys, so it is what it is. They’ve got good players; we just have to play our brand of football.
“In every game, regardless of opponent, minimizing penalties and holding onto the football is critical, especially in a league game. That’s so important if you want to keep moving forward.
“You have to keep it a clean game. You’ve got to play clean against a team like (Shea).”
When asked if having the home-field advantage could play a role in the verdict, Lima admitted, “We have a great and spirited student section, not to mention enthusiastic parents and boosters come to see our games home or on the road, and we do well at both, but – I’ll be honest – on the high school level, I don’t think it plays a huge role.
“I don’t think it will weigh too heavily on the outcome,” he added. “We’re just approaching this by preaching the same things we have since August. That is, ‘Focus on today. Don’t look ahead, don’t look behind you. You can’t worry about anything but what we do, what we should do.’ It’s that simple.”
Still, Shea isn’t the only area team to be entering tonight’s slate of contests with a flawless record. In fact, there are numerous intriguing tilts on the schedule this weekend. Tonight they include Tiverton at North Smithfield/Mount St. Charles Co-op (D-IV, 6 p.m., NSHS); Burrillville at Rogers (D-II-B, 7 p.m., Toppa Field); Central Falls at Pilgrim (D-III, 7 p.m.); Chariho at Tolman (D-III, 7 p.m., Pariseau Field); and Cranston East at St. Raphael Academy (D-I-A, 7 p.m., Max Read Field).
Among those with perfect marks so far: The Broncos (3-0 overall, 2-0 in II-B), NS/ MSC (3-0 overall, 2-0 in D-IV) and Central Falls (3-0 overall, 2-0 in D-III).
“Rogers runs an I-formation, pro-style offense with a little option sprinkled in, and they have two very good runners (in senior Daryll Stanton and junior Kyshaun Pemberton),” BHS mentor Gennaro Ferraro noted. “They’re also really good on defense. They fly to the ball because they’re so athletic. I looks like they only have one non-skill-position player on defense, which really concerns me.
“They’re team speed is terrific,” he continued. “They get to the ball, they tackle well and they’ll try to swarm you … How do we stop them? I just want us to come out and play; that’s it. What I mean by that is, we’re going to make some mistakes, no team doesn’t, but we have to play through ours. We have to respond to their positive plays with positive plays of our own.
“We can’t get hung up on the good, the bad or the indifferent,” he added. “I want us to play worry-free and hard; I want us to have fun. I want us to put to good use all the practice time we had this week. The kids worked hard.”
As for the Northmen/Mounties, they will carry a perfect slate into their showdown with the always-tough Tigers, who have the same exact mark. On head coach Wes Pennington’s side, NS/MSC has outscored its three foes by a collective 126-18 count, including league victories over Toll Gate (35-0) and Smithfield (56-5).
“I just think we’re older now,” Pennington said Thursday afternoon. “If you remember, a few years ago, we couldn’t finish the season because we had so many guys out with injuries; we ran out of depth, and had to forfeit the last couple of games. We had freshmen and sophomore getting beaten up out there.
“But the key is that those freshmen are now seniors, and they’ve had the last two years of growing, maturing, learning our schemes, practicing. They’ve also spent all that time together, both on and off the field, which anyone knows is key for a true team.
“I know that from being on some great football teams who have won (five) national championships (in semi-pro ball); there was one common denominator, and that was we were all friends,” he added. “We liked each other – genuinely. We hung out off the field. “I see the same thing in these guys.”
As for the task at hand, he claimed the Tigers are loaded, but that’s hardly a stunner.
“They run more or less a spread offense with a lot of option; they try to mix you up, and they’re good at it, so we have to play disciplined,” he offered, stating junior quarterback Matt Gacioch and classmate/tailback Nate Upchurch highlight the attack. “They’re also really quick. Defensively, they run pretty much a ‘3’ front, like a 3-4 or 3-5, and they flow to the ball really well.
“I truly believe this is going to be a good football game. We’re going to have to be able to control the football, the time of possession, especially against an option team. If we can force them into a few ‘three-and-outs,’ that will help us a ton. If we’re holding the ball, they can’t score – unless we give it up. “That’s not in our plans.”
On Saturday, Lincoln will travel to Classical for a D-III contest at 12:30 p.m., while Woonsocket will entertain East Greenwich at Barry Field at 1 p.m.