NS/MSC dominates showdown
Curran, Beaudoin run wild vs. Ponaganset
NORTH SMITHFIELD — Undefeated Ponaganset couldn’t stop North Smithfield running back Cade Curran in Friday night’s Division IV showdown.
The Chieftains also couldn’t stop Mount St. Charles sophomore fullback Jared Beaudoin. And they couldn’t slow down North Smithfield reserve back Jordan Allard.
Thanks to the superb work of an offensive line led by Kase Cabral, Kyle Johannis and Cole Dubois, the North- men-Mounties ran for 341 yards on just 47 carries to go along with five touchdowns in a 37-16 statement victory to take complete control of the division race.
“Our offensive line really stepped up tonight,” Beaudoin said after rushing for 81 yards to go along with a rushing and receiving touchdown. “Ponaganset had a really big defensive line, but our guys did a great job making the holes. It got a little tricky because we couldn’t run it all the time, but we got out there and we did our job.”
“Not too shabby,” Curran said when he heard what his squad rushed for in the win. “I didn’t get to play last week [because of a hamstring injury], so it was a real bummer to sit on the sideline and watch. Against Ponaganset, I just wanted to run my heart out. Our offensive line did a great job creating massive holes for me and the other running back to run and score. That was the game.”
North Smithfield/Mount St. Charles (6-0, 5-0 Division IV) simply needs to win one of its final two games to clinch the No. 1 seed in the playoffs and avoid the Chieftains and Tiverton until the Super Bowl next month at Cranston Stadium. The Northmen-Mounties travel to Hope Saturday before returning home to finish the regular season against Scituate in two weeks.
As well as his squad played, NSMSC veteran coach Wes Pennington said there is more potential in his team. After all, the Northmen failed to convert on five of six extra points because of poor blocking and they allowed a pair of long runs that led directly to Ponaganset touchdowns.
“There’s definitely more. This wasn’t our best football game,” Pennington said. “We left stuff out there that we can do better. … I think the kids played with some pride and some excitement and just got after it. We were pumped all week for this game. Right from the beginning they got right after it and we didn’t put the brakes on at all.”
Ponaganset (6-1, 5-1 Division IV) needs to beat Hope in two weeks to clinch the No. 2 seed, but because the semifinals will be played at a neutral site, the only advantage to being the higher seed is you get to wear your home uniform.
Offensively, the Chieftains were led by senior running back Evan Calise, who rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown. Senior Jeremy Stone rushed for a 23-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to make it a 31-16 game. North Smithfield responded with a 49-yard drive that was punc- tuated by an Allard two-yard touchdown run with 5:53 left in the contest.
Ponaganset was the architect of its own destruction in the first half. The Chieftains turned the ball over at their own 18-yard line when the ball was snapped over quarterback Zach Silvaggio’s head and recovered by the hosts. Beaudoin scored a threeyard touchdown three plays later to put the hosts ahead for good.
NSMSC kicker Pasquale Camastro followed with an onside kick that was recovered by Michael Paiva. The hosts recovered a pair of onside kicks in the opening half.
“We do that to everybody,” Pennington said. “We see weaknesses on the kickoff team. When we scout, we look at special teams and weaknesses and all that. We tried to take advan- tage of those.”
Curran doubled the lead with a four-yard touchdown just 6:31 into the quarter, and he added a 44-yard touchdown scamper just 3:11 into the second quarter to increase the lead to 18-0.
Even when NSMSC was making mistakes, they still found a way to score. On an attempted 21-yard field goal, the ball was snapped into the ground and holder LJ Meriweather was forced to make the most of a bad situation. The senior rolled to his right and found Beaudoin open in the end zone for a four-yard touchdown.
“That was crazy. I was not expecting that, I was expecting us to kick a field goal,” Beaudoin said. “I hear ‘Fire,’ very faintly, so I start running into the end zone. LJ lobbed it, I caught and then I got hit really hard.”
Calise scored a three-yard touchdown and the Chieftains converted the two-point try to get on the board, but the hosts marched 80 yards – well, 100 thanks to a pair of holding penalties – on the first drive of the second half. Quarterback Jack Puccetti, after a Xavier Croteau 65-yard run, scored on a three-yard bootleg.
Stone scored a 23-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter, but NSMSC answered again when Allard, who was in for the ailing Curran, scored a two-yard touchdown. He rushed for 29 yards on seven carries.
“They were favored, so this was a big test for us,” Curran said. “This was a must-win for us if we want to get to the Bowl. We had so much energy. We came out strong and it showed. They didn’t come out with as much as energy as us. We scored first and kept going.” Bishop Hendricken 0 – 7 – 14 – 0 --- 21
Shea 0 – 6 – 0 – 8 --- 14
BH – Angel Sanchez 32 pass from Thomas Comella (Cole Peterson kick)
S – Jaylen Smith 38 pass from Eric Palmer (kick failed)
BH – Comella 6 run (kick failed)
BH – Israel Emmanuel 15 run (Andres Andujar pass from Peterson)
S – Gio Delgado 16 pass from Palmer (Greg Williams pass from Palmer)