Broncos run to victory
Gelinas, Bouvier lead way in shutout win
PROVIDENCE – It didn’t take long after Burrillville High head coach Gennaro Ferraro’s approximate eightminute chat with his team to look to the future.
His Broncos had just manufactured a 35-0 Division III-B triumph over Hope at AdamsClanton-Morgan Memorial Field on Saturday afternoon, but it wasn’t nearly as easy as it appeared.
Still, the first words out of his mouth following his soliloquy were, “Division championship next week, baby! It’s us and Central Falls” (at Alumni Field at 10:30 a.m., Saturday).
That’s an unusual approach for Ferraro, as he virtually always talks of the game just played, the positives and negatives, etc. But it’s true: The Broncos, now 5-0 in league action (6-1 overall), and Warriors (given a CF victory over winless Scituate later Saturday night) will compete for unbeaten league status and the III-B crown next weekend.
Burrillville managed that scenario against a stout Blue Wave defense designed to take away Ferraro’s aerial attack. Still, junior quarterback Jake Gelinas completed 16 of 26 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown, but also ran for 48 and a paydirt on six carriers (269 all-purpose yards).
Senior Nick Deering caught five of his tosses for 109 yards, junior Ryan Lockwood six more for 47 and senior Christian Bouvier one for 31.
Bouvier, a tailback exhibiting both speed and aggression, closed with 104 yards and two scores on 15 handles.
Defensively, the Broncos surrendered only 53 ground yards on 18 carries, while senior signal caller Juan Nunez landed seven of 12 passes for 95 yards.
Thanks to the likes of seniors Tyler Richards and Nate Tayes, not to mention juniors Brennan Richards and Brandon DiChiaro, the visitors sacked Nunez five times for a minus38 yards and forced three fumbles (none lost).
“You have to credit Hop and Coach (Mike) Gibbons,” Ferraro explained afterward. “They came out wanting to take away our passing game, or at least certain deep threats, and they did a good job of that. They forced us to run and throw the ball for possession, meaning short routes, but our boys did a great job of adjusting to their defense during the game.
“They had skilled athletes all across the defensive backfield,” he continued. “The key to this game was just establishing a drive and then sustaining it. We knew we weren’t going to be able to stretch the field that well because of the matchups, so we leaned on our condi- tioning, We wanted to wear them down, play physical and fast and not give them much time to rest between plays.”
The Blue Wave took advantage of the stingy defense from the get-go, allowing the Broncos only one first down on their opening possession before forcing them to punt. Tayes booted an average, 25-yard punt, but he received a most fortunate bounce – that off the helmet of senior lineman Ralph Waite.
(The poor kid tried to get away out of the way, but ran right into it for the unfortunate blooper).
The ball landed in the arms of sophomore Sam Hetu, who immediately was tackled at the Hope 38.
Four snaps later, Gelinas bootlegged four yards around the right end for the TD, and senior Darren Jenks delivered the extra point with 3:29 elapsed in the first quarter.
The Blue Wave maneuvered the pigskin to the BHS 35 before the drive stalled, and Ferraro’s bunch responded with its most impressive possession of the day. It went 90 yards on 14 plays culminating on Gelinas’ 10yard scoring toss to Lockwood in the right section of the end zone. On the play, a roll right, Gelinas threw it over two defenders and into the leaping Lockwood’s hands.
On the PAT attempt, officials whistled Hope for encroachment, so Ferraro took Jenks off the field and his offense on it, and Tyler Richards plowed off right tackle to make it 15-0 early in the second.
Burrillville cashed in on its following possession as well, moving 52 yards on six snaps before Bouvier exploded through a massive hole off left tackle and hustled 14 yards to paydirt. It actually was set up on a terrific 27yard “catch-and-run” by Nick Deering, who gained at least 24 by his lonesome.
The Broncos actually had another chance to cushion its lead just before the half when it rolled 59 yards on five snaps, but Gelinas’ heave to Lockwood in the left front corner of the end zone fell incomplete.
They made it up for that on its first possession of the third period. Bouvier capped an 11-play, 70-yard cruise with a 27-yard TD jaunt with 4:50 remaining, but Jenks pushed his PAT wide right.
On the sixth play of the fourth, Tyler Richards bulled a yard off right guard to close the scoring for the Broncos.
“I thought Bouvier ran well, and that Jake did, too,” Ferraro said. “Our offensive line was able to establish a good push for most of the game, and that opened up the lanes. I also thought we had some good blocking from our receivers.”