Novans prove relentless
Third-quarter surge proves too much for Classical to handle
PROVIDENCE – When Classical High opened its Division II-A contest with a lengthy, 52-yard touchdown drive, one ending on senior quarterback Rainer Vargas’ six-yard toss to classmate Mason Reyes at the 7:33 mark of the initial quarter, Woonsocket head coach Charlie Bibeault admitted he could’ve blown a gasket.
Bibeault, however, had faith in his guys to corral their emotions and get to playing the usual brand of physical, unrelenting Villa Novan football. And when the second half started, he could see the difference.
In the span of 7:47 in the third period, Woonsocket exploded for 21 unanswered points – 27 in all – to spoil the Purple’s colorful Homecoming, 41-20, at the Al Morro Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoon.
“We came out really flat, like we didn’t want to play; I don’t know that the issue was,” he stated after his club improved to 6-1 overall and 5-1 in league action. “We gave up a big interception, a gift, late in the second quarter, but we had a little pep talk with the boys at halftime.
“We told them, in essence, they couldn’t keep playing down to the competition, and that they needed to get back to playing smash-mouth football like we usually do,” he added. “We came out in our heavy package the first couple of drives, scored a couple of TDs and the rest was history.
“We regained out identity in the second half.”
Senior Dwayne Robinson-O’Hagan easily paced the Novans’ offense, as he accumulated an astonishing 228 total yards with 139 yards on four kick/punt returns, 85 more on four rushes and another four on two catches.
All told, he only handled the ball 10 times, so averaged 22.8 yards per tuck.
Other key performances came from sophomore Logan Coles (67 yards, two paydirts on eight carries) and senior Emmanuel Gomes (58 yards on seven).
Quarterback Geraldi Paniagua finished 8-for-18 for 89 yards, but was picked off twice. His favorite targets included sophomore Curtney Davis (three, 36), senior Hezekiah Adeyeye (two, 20) and classmate Justo Colon (one, 29).
Defensively, Robinson-O’Hagan, juniors Corey Brown nd Hayden Depault and Coles played solidly, not to mention the line and backers, who sacked elusive senior Rainer Vargas a whopping six tims for a minus-58 yards. They also allowed him to complete only 24 of 53 his aerials for 256 yards.
The problem: All three of the Purple’s scores came through the air.
The first came with 7:33 left in the initial stanza. The Novans allowed the hosts 17 plays on that possession, and it culminated on his two-yard toss to Mason Reyes. Senior Jason Feit delivered the PAT to make it 7-0 quick.
WHS finally got things rolling later in the period, when it utilized 2:59 to maneuver 85 yards on 11 snaps. After Paniagua’s 29-yard toss to Colon, Gomes rushed twice for 16 more before the QB himself called his own number for a three-yard sneak off right guard.
Adeyeye planted that conversion to tie it, yet the Purple had plans to return the favor. It drove from its own 30 to the Novans’ 12 before it faced a fourthand-10 situation. A bad snap resulted in a fumble, and that ignited a 70-yard, 10-play possession ending on Gomes’ 12-yard TD jaunt off left guard.
Adeyeye booted his second of five PATs to lift his club to the 14-7 cushion with 5:05 left before the break.
It nevertheless didn’t take long for Classical to knot it, despite the fact Woonsocket held a first-and-10 at the hosts’ 25. With 3:37 remaining, Vargas intercepted Paniagua and returned it 62 yards down the left sideline to the 33, and – on the fifth snap – Vargas rolled left and tucked a two-yard heave into falling sophomore Sam Badoo’s arms to tie it one more with 59 ticks on the clock.
Adeyeye did attempt a 56-yard field goal as time ran out, but that sailed wide right – and short.
As stated, though, Classical was in trouble from the start of the third. Robinson-Vargas returned the opening boot 80 yards to the 10, and Coles bulled over from the 4 to give the Novans the lead for good.
Exactly 1:10 later, after a 16-yard punt, Coles racked up 19 yards on two handles before Gomes swept nine yards around right end for the score that made it 28-14. And, with 3:34 remaining in the session, Gomes closed a 67-yard drive with a stellar, cut-back 20-yard hustle for the 35-21 lead.
Following a second pick of Paniagua, this by Badoo, Classical gained a golden opportunity to trim its deficit. It moved to the WHS 3, but a procedure flag and a 21-yard sack closed that deal.
The Novans took advantage when Coles pushed his way nine yards into the end zone for his final paydirt.
Classical notched a pretty TD with 3.4 remaining in regulation, courtesy of Reyes’ outstanding, leaping 10-yard grab in the deep right flat.
“I’m most pleased by the lack of penalties we had compared to last week,” Bibeault stated. “I also thought we ran the ball hard, and had a solid pass rush in the second half.” Woonsocket 7 7 21 6 – 41 Classical 7 70 6 – 20
CL – Mason Reyes 2 pass from Rainer Vargas (Jason Feit kick)
WOON – Geraldi Paniagua 3 run (Hezekiah Adeyeye kick)
WOON – Emmanuel Gomes 12 run (Adeyeye kick) CL – Sam Badoo 2 pass from Vargas (Feit kick) WOON – Logan Coles 2 run (Adeyeye kick) WOON – Gomes 9 run (Adeyeye kick)
WOON – Gomes 20 run (Adeyeye kick)
WOON – Coles 9 run (pass failed)
CL – Reyes 6 pass from Vargas (kick failed)