Watch out for Novans
Woonsocket dominates Johnston to secure second straight win
WOONSOCKET – Logan Coles knows what he likes, and that’s a powerful motivational speaker.
As has been the case for the last 14 months or so, Woonsocket High head coach Charlie Bibeault has asked a Providence resident named William Winfield to come to the team’s clubhouse at Barry Field before each home tilt and speak.
More often than not, Winfield sparks his squad, but nobody perhaps felt his message any deeper than Coles.
The junior tailback exploded for 109 yards and four touchdowns – and also played superbly on defense – as the Villa Novans overwhelmed Johnston, 48-24, Saturday at Barry Field.
“His message is the same every time – just go out and play the way Woonsocket knows how,” a satisfied Coles grinned afterward. “(Saturday) he said we needed to play like every day is a championship game, and it was awesome. He gets the blood pumping right before the game; it’s just a power that surges inside you, especially when you’re downstairs in the locker room and the guys all have their gear on.
“You feel like you’re invincible, and that’s how I felt here,” he added. “I was psyched; I felt really good. Our game plan was just for everybody to know their assignments and execute them to the best of their ability; just go out there and get it done.”
According to those who know him best, Coles has been in a funk for the better part of the campaign.
“Logan started the year off slowly,” Bibeault offered. “I think it was just more mental issues than physical, that he was just kind of in his own head, but we left him alone and let him work himself out of it. We let him focus and play football, and this is the result. He’s just a great kid and a really hard worker.”
Still, Coles alone didn’t help propel WHS to the triumph, which raised its overall mark to 2-4 overall and 2-3 in league play.
Sophomore Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan went 5-for-5 through the air for 132 yards and two touchdowns, while Coles caught one for 13, junior Eric Agyemang another for 53 and a TD, sophomore Jaiden Milatmouk caught a 50-yard touchdown pass, and senior Isaiah Holt two for 16.
Defensively, the Novans were just as effective, forcing the Panthers (1-5, 0-4 Division II) into two lost fumbles and a pair of picks. They also held the visitors to 13 ground yards on 15 carries, and sacked sophomore signal caller Hunter Remington five times for a minus-34 yards.
He finished with only 35 on nine keepers while going 13-of-27 for 85 yards.
“It was a good win,
but we still have a lot of things to fix,” Bibeault said later. “We had too many penalties, and I mean bad-timing penalties, like on fourth-and-3 we jump offside, and fourth-and-8 and we’re called for 12 men on the field, then they convert a fake punt. Not good.
“As for our motivation, I think William got the guys fired up,” he continued. “He’s actually moving out to the West Coast next week, so (Saturday) will be the last time he’ll speak to us. I hope it carries over … He’s a great guy who lifts our guys up. His message here was six more wins to go, and we’ll get another Super Bowl (championship). He said, ‘It all starts today.’ so now we need five more.”
The Novans took little time in hammering their own message home at the start. After forcing the Panthers into a three-and-out, Coles closed a seven-play, 56-yard possession with a four-yard plunge behind the left tackle, and junior Clinton Kittavong booted his first of four PATs with 5:30 left in the initial quarter.
Exactly 42 ticks later, Robinson-O’Hagan sacked Remington for an eight-yard loss – and in the end zone – for the safety that made it 9-0.
Then, on the ensuing free kick, sophomore Davonte Lavallee bolted 64 yards down the left sideline to give the hosts a first-and-goal try at the Johnston 5. Naturally, Coles took a pitch around right end and scored with ease to make it 16-0 only 34 seconds after the safety.
Robinson-O’Hagan was responsible for the registration of the next touchdown, forcing and recovering a Remington fumble at the JHS 26 and returning it to the 6. Coles finished that off,
Photo by Ernest A. Brown too, this time with a six-yard jaunt.
With 1:27 still left before the period’s end, the Novans increased the cushion to 23-0.
The Panthers nevertheless began to turn the tide on their following drive. It appeared WHS would stop its foe on a fourth-and-one at its own 39, but officials whistled an encroachment, handing Johnston the first down.
With 8:48 left before the break, Remington rolled right and hit senior Joe Patterson on a nine-yard scoring aerial. He also tossed to sophomore Joe Acciardo for the twopoint conversion.
On the ensuing kickoff, junior Xavier Alvarez muffed it and Acciardo pounced on it at the Novans’ 29, though the defense pushed it back to the 38. Junior Thomas Zednik fumbled a fourth-down attempt at the 47, and senior Corey Brown recovered.
On the very next play, Agyemang made a spectacular leaping grab over a corner and rambled into the end zone to complete a 53-yard scoring pass, though a bad snap resulted in a failed Coles rushing try.
The half ended with the Novans up, 29-8, but they extended that lead to 35-8 following a brief, five-snap, 60-yard possession, one culminated with sophomore back Jaiden Milatmouk taking a right-side screen pass 50 yards down the right sideline for the TD, though Kittavong’s extra point was blocked.
Ninety-five ticks after that score, Alvarez made up for the muff with a 35-yard interception return for the paydirt. Again, however, a Johnston hand knocked down the PAT.
Toward the end of the third quarter, Bibeault began replacing his varsity starters due to the lopsided nature of the game, though the Panthers took advantage right away. On the fourth play of the fourth quarter, Acciardo snared a tough, 27-yard aerial from Remington, not to mention the two-point toss, to slice it to 41-16 with 10:10 left in regulation.
Less than two minutes later, Jariel Rodriguez returned his pick 53 yards to the house, and Patterson hauled in Dillon Stubbs’ conversion pass to knife it to 41-24.
Despite two ridiculous penalties, Coles plowed through at least three defenders to hustle 40 yards for his final TD less than two minutes to play.
“He was a bulldozer out there,” Robinson-O’Hagan laughed. Johnston Woonsocket
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0 8 23 6 0 16 – 24 12 7 – 48
WOON – Logan Coles 4 tavong kick)
WOON – Safety: Tarik Robinson- O’Hagan sacks quarterback Hunter Remington in end zone
WOON – Coles 5 run (Kittavong kick) WOON – Coles 6 run Kittavong kick) JOHN – Joe Patterson 9 pass from Hunter Remington (Joe Acciardo pass from Remington)
WOON – Eric Agyemang 53 Robinson- O’Hagan (run failed) WOON – Jaiden Milatmouk 50 pass from Robinson- O’Hagan (kick blocked) WOON – Xavier Alvarez 35 interception return (kick blocked)
JOHN – Acciardo 27 pass from Remington (Acciardo pass from Remington) JOHN – Jariel Rodriguez 53 interception return (Patterson pass from Dillon Stubbs) WOON – Coles 40 run (Kittavong kick)
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