WINNING TIME
Gomes’ big day on the ground lifts Novans past Islanders
WOONSOCKET — Woonsocket senior running back Emmanuel Gomes has excelled on the football field since he was in elementary school, but entering Saturday afternoon's Division II quarterfinal against No. 4 Middletown, Gomes had never won a playoff game.
In an emotional season where he's had to overcome obstacles on an and off the field, Saturday was the latest example of Gomes' ability to lead his team to victory.
The senior rushed for a 13-yard touchdown in the opening quarter and then added a 26-yard touchdown run in the third quarter as part of a 270-yard performance on the ground to help the No. 1 Villa Novans overcome the Islanders, 24-14, on a windy, rainy afternoon at Barry Field.
“That kid is my hero,” Woonsocket coach Charlie Bibeault said. “Everything that he went through this year. Every day he shows up here ready to work. He's the first one here and he's the last one to leave. I can't give him enough credit. When he runs the ball, he can either stutter step you and go by you or just run you over. The kid's got it all. He's the complete package.”
“I didn't realize I ran for that much,” said Gomes, whose mother died the night of the Injury Fund game at Cumberland in late August. “This feels pretty great. I've
never won a playoff game in my life. I've made it to the first round before, but never won a playoff game. This feels great.”
Woonsocket (8-1 Division II) played well for long stretches of Saturday's game, but Bibeault knows his team will have to play better if they want to play in the Division II Super Bowl for the first time since 2012. The Novans, who will play either No. 2 Westerly or No. 3 West Warwick Saturday at East Greenwich High, committed four turnovers, and allowed Mason Gilman, Devin Russ and quarterback Konner Kluth run the ball most of the second half.
“We know we're going to have either West Warwick or Westerly and we're ready for them,” Bibeault said. “We'd love a rematch with either of them. Unfortunately, we had three turnovers in the second half – all fumbles. We let them hang around. They're a very physical team and they didn't give up at all. They punched us back in the mouth in the second half.”
Middletown (4-5 Division II) made mistakes in the first quarter that it could never overcome against a relentless Woonsocket running attack led by Gomes, Logan Coles and Dwyane Robinson-O'Hagan. After a three-andout on the Islanders' opening possession, the Novans took a lead they would never relinquish on a Hezekiah Adeyeye 41-yard field goal.
The Islanders turned the ball over on the first play of their next set of downs and Gomes made them pay. The senior creased the Middletown defense for a 13-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 10-0.
The road side finally started moving the ball in the second quarter after starting a drive T their one-foot line. Thanks to a 34-yard scamper from Gilman, the Islanders drove down to the Woonsocket 7. But, as was the case throughout the first half, the Islanders made a mistake and the Villa Novans capitalized.
A bad snap submarined the drive and the Villa Novans responded with a touchdown on the final play of the first half when senior quarterback Geraldi Paniagua tossed a 33-yard touchdown pass to Justo Colon to extend the lead to 17.
“I'm never going to say it was perfection, but we played very well in the first half – beside that 90-yard drive in the second quarter,” Bibeault said. “We played pretty good. We knew [Gilman] was a very physical runner and [Russ] was a very quick runner. We figured with the wet grass, [Russ] wasn't going to be as important and they would go with [Gilman]. We were psychical with them.
“Our M.O. is we run the ball and play physical. We knew it was going to be a wet field, so we've been practicing for it all week. That's the result.”
Woonsocket continued to be physical to start the second half, as the Novans went 74 yards on the opening drive of the half to increase their lead to 24 points. Coles had a 17-yard run to set the stage for Gomes to go 26 yards for his second touchdown of the day.
The final 20 minutes, however, Bibeault would like to see his team play better. From turnovers, to penalties, to missed assignments on defense, the Novans made mistakes and allowed Middletown to get back into the game.
Kluth scored a two-yard touchdown on an option play late in the third quarter to get the Islanders on the scoreboard. The Novans turned the ball over three times in the fourth quarter, with the second leading directly to a Gilman 70-yard touchdown run to cut the Islanders' deficit to 10.
After a Coles fumble later in the quarter, Middletown reached the Woonsocket 35, but an incompletion on fourth down sealed Woonsocket's first playoff win since a 27-0 victory over Central in the 2012 D-II semifinals.
“We felt we were just stronger than them. We knew coming in here that we could run it down their throats and that's what we did,” Gomes said. “We can always play better. The plan is to always play better in the next game.”