Smith, Curry tame Townies
Shea High takes down E. Providence, 41-24
EAST PROVIDENCE — The Shea High School football team ventured to Pierce Field on Saturday morning and ambushed the East Providence Townies, 41-24, in a Division I-A contest.
Jaylen Smith, Shea’s senior star running back, scored three touchdowns on offense and made two interceptions on defense. Quarterback Trentin Curry, a senior, tossed three touchdown passes, two of which went to DeJuan Hayes.
Hayes, a senior running back, is nearing full strength after suffering an injury two weeks ago.
“He did well,” Raiders head coach Dino Campopiano said about Hayes. “He played hurt last week, but this week he was kind of back to his normal. He had a bad ankle sprain. So, he did a nice job.
“Trentin did a nice job throwing the ball today,” Campopiano continued. “And obviously Jaylen, he does what he does, and he always plays well. But overall, I thought it was a great team effort. The defense buckled down, I think after the first two series, and did a great job. So, overall I’m very pleased with the effort from everybody.”
East Providence’s top performer was Juan Diaz, a senior running back, who scored three touchdowns.
The Townies took a 6-0 lead, five minutes into the contest, when senior quarterback Justin Pena connected with Diaz for a 39-yard score. Davonte Symonds missed the extra point following that, however.
Three minutes after that, Curry evened the score at 6 when the quarterback completed a 22-yard touchdown pass through the middle to Hayes. Next, Sergio Gonzalez, a junior, added the extra point and gave the Raiders a 7-6 advantage.
East Providence answered during its next drive and drew a 12-7 edge with 58 seconds left in the opening quarter, when Pena linked on a 5-yard touchdown pass to Diaz during a fourth-and-goal.
Those two East Providence touchdowns occurred while the Townies were in their hurry-up offense, which kept the Raiders defense off-balance during its first two series.
“They played well,” Campopiano said on his defense. “East Providence is a great team. East Providence kind of changed things up. They went no-huddle or no backs. But we kind of settled down and did what we had to do. So, I’m very proud of the guys. It was a great team effort today.”
The Raiders went back on top 1412, with 11:06 remaining in the second quarter, when Curry connected on a 61-yard touchdown heave to Davontay Vaz, a senior wide receiver.
Then, with 8:38 left in the half, Smith rushed into the house from 28 yards out and upped the Raiders margin to 21-12.
Shea extended its buffer to 27-12, one minute and 12 seconds into the second half, when Smith rushed down the right sideline, 84 yards and into pay dirt.
The Raiders got the ball right back after that when Igdaliah Makor, a senior, recovered the ensuing onside kick at the East Providence 46.
Three plays later, Curry tossed a swing pass to Hayes, who brought it 16 yards into the end zone and upped the Shea buffer to 34-12.
Then, with 58 seconds left in the third frame, the Townies inched within 34-18 when Diaz rushed left, 14 yards and into the house.
The Townies got within 34-24 after Pena ran a keeper left, 49 yards and into the end zone with 9:31 remaining in the contest.
Shea got some breathing room a minute later, though, when Smith rushed left, 13 yards and into the end zone and expanded the Raiders advantage to 41-24.
With the victory, the Raiders improve their league record to 4-1 and play next at home against North Kingstown (4-1) and its standout quarterback James Osmanski at Max Read Field on Friday at 7 pm.
“I think he’s very good,” Campopiano said on the Skippers pocket passer. “He’s probably one of the better quarterbacks in the state. They have a great program over there and so we’ll have to get ready. We’ll enjoy this one, but we’ll have to get ready and get very prepared for them next week.”