Slow start proves to cost Clippers dearly
PAWTUCKET — As the Tampa Bay Bucaneers piled up loss after loss during the team’s infancy, quotable coach John McKay was asked about his team’s execution.
McKay famously replied,
“I’m in favor of it.”
Saturday, as Pariseau Field, Cumberland football coach Josh Lima had a similar response. Needing a victory to secure a Division I playoff spot and move a step closer to hosting a quarterfinal in two weeks, the Clippers failed to execute in any phase of the game in the first half against winless St. Raphael.
The Clippers improved midway through the third quarter, but they dug themselves too deep a hole. Senior quarterback Joe Leonard scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak two plays into the fourth quarter, but the righty was picked off by Kai Meerbott with under a minute left to secure SRA a 14-6 victory.
“We came out slow, it took us a while to get going – the phrase of the day is lack of execution,” Lima said. “We just didn’t execute. The plays were there to be made, but we had missed tackles and dropped footballs and it was just a lack of execution today. Again, in the first half we did not execute. I can’t say it enough, we didn’t execute in crucial positions of the field.”
Cumberland (3-4, 3-3 Division I) now must defeat Cranston East Friday night at Tucker Field to secure a playoff spot. Cumberland will also earn home-field advantage in the D-I quarterfinals with a victory, an East Providence loss to No. 1 Bishop Hendricken and a Shea defeat to second-place North Kingstown.
Lima, however, knows that a victory over the Thunderbolts will only happen if the Clippers play a lot better than they did against a St. Raphael squad that started five freshmen and is out of the playoff hunt.
“I just said to the kids, ‘You have two roads ahead of us. You’re either going to regroup and fight or you’re going to tap,’” Lima said. “I know the guys we have, they’re not going to tap out. They’re going to keep fighting. Winning today would’ve solidified us in the playoffs, but now we put ourselves in a tougher position. We have to take care of business next week.”
Clipper junior receiver Dante Aviles-Santos, who spent his freshman year at St. Raphael, led the visitors with five catches for 100 yards. Aviles-Santos made a 55-yard catch late in the third quarter to bring the Clippers into the SRA red zone for the first time all afternoon.
On the second play of the fourth quarter, Leonard scored on a one-yard run. The Clippers missed the extra point, but they forced a three-and-out on the next possession. Cumberland had to punt the ball away, but they had one more chance after sacking quarterback Pride Clark on fourth down at the 10-yard line with just under three minutes left.
Leonard completed passes to Aviles-Santos and senior running back Jack Andrews (two catches for 14 yards) to bring the ball into SRA territory with under a minute left.
With 45 seconds left and the Clippers on the SRA 34, Lima ran a play with just a few linemen in the tackle box, while the rest were spread out to the right side of the field. Leonard was sacked on the play and the Clippers had to use their final timeout.
“It was just a little formation we had that was a wrinkle. We had a couple of different options on it depending on how they were aligned,” Lima said. “We went with a pass and there was a missed route in the concept.”
Meerbott picked off Leonard on the next play to secure the Saints their first win of the campaign. Leonard finished the day 11-for-24 for 145 yards and an interception to go along with eight rushing yards and a touchdown.
St. Raphael (1-6, 1-5 Division I) went on a 13-play, 64-yard drive to start the game to score all the points they would need. Clark, following runs by freshman Andre Gray, Andrew Ardella and Devin O’Malley, crashed into the end zone for a one-yard touchdown. O’Malley ran in the two-point conversion.
After they forced a Clipper punt, the Saints went on a 14-play drive that ended at the Cumberland 27. The Saints went up 14-0 3:30 into the third quarter when Gray scored a three-yard touchdown. Cumberland 0 0 06 -6
St. Raphael 8 0 60 - 14
First quarter – SRA, Pride Clark 1 run (Devin O’Malley run), 3:50.