NS/MSC cruises past Sentinels
NORTH SMITHFIELD — With his school’s pep band playing the “On Wisconsin” fight song for the umpteenth time late Saturday afternoon, senior tri-captain/receiver/strong safety Josh Carufel peered up at the scoreboard, one that read, “North Smithfield 62, Smithfield 0,” and replied, “You know, I knew we were good, but not that good.”
As far as head coach Wes Pennington is concerned, the truth about his club after the Division III/ IV crossover pummeling is somewhere in the middle.
“I really didn’t expect this,” he stated after the whupping, one that pushed the D-IV Northmen to 3-0 overall. “Especially in a rivalry game, you never know what you’re going to get from either side. If we came out flat and they came out making plays, it could have been a totally different ball game. We know we’re not that good, and we know Smithfield isn’t that bad.
“My big thing for us to strive for here was to come out and play with some energy and passion, get after it and play for and with each other,” he continued. “We got a great effort (Saturday), especially from the defense.”
Call that a massive understatement, as the NS “D” forced four fumbles (none lost) and intercepted an astonishing five passes. In fact, it also caused the Sentinels – on their first three punts – to accumulate a scant 42 yards.
Naturally, all led to touchdowns.
Pennington credited seniors Cade Curran, Matt Beausoleil and Carufel and juniors Michael Paiva, Jordan Allard and Jared Beaudoin for such phenomenal outings. The only SHS player who did cause issues for NS was tall, lanky sophomore quarterback Corey Conlin, who completed only four of 18 tosses for 19 yards and was picked off four times, but did manage 103 yards on 15 keepers.
He also produced 36 receiving yards when senior Marc Klaiman replaced him under center.
As for the Northmen offense, Curran hustled for 165 yards and a TD on seven handles, Allard 108 all-purpose yards, Beaudoin 15 receiving and 21 ground yards and a “pick-six” and junior Gianni Sirignano 29 yards on five handles.
Senior quarterback Jack Puccetti finished six-for-nine with 56 yards and a score with one interception through the first half and the opening drive of the second.
“I could go on and on about the guys who are playing very well and helped us to these big victories (three straight with a combined score of 144-14), but we’ve got some tough ones coming up,” Pennington noted of a clash at Tiverton next Saturday at 10:30 a.m. (The Tigers are the same club that upset NS last year for the D-IV state title).
“That’s a good football team they’ve got; I wouldn’t call it a revenge game but a really good football game,” he added. “We’ll see who comes out on top, and we’re looking forward to it. I’m not worried about complacency because our seniors and juniors were all here last year, and they’re focused. They all want to get back to that last game.”
As for this one, it took about 17 ticks off the scoreboard clock for the Northmen to reach the end zone, as Curran went 83 yards with the opening boot, and junior Pasquale Camastro hammered his first of eight PATs for the 7-0 cushion.
A little over two minutes later, following a 23-yard punt, Beaudoin bulled seven yards off left guard for the score, and with 3:46 remaining in the opening period, Allard pinballed off a pair of defenders for the three-yard TD.
When another 12-yard boot left the Northmen with a first-and-10 at the Sentinels’ 20, Curran took the second snap from Puccetti and wheeled six yards off left tackle for the 28-0 lead with 56 seconds left.
Early in the second quarter, however, Smithfield pushed the pigskin to the NS 47 before turning it over on downs, and the Northmen immediately fashioned a sixplay, 53-yard drive ending on Puccetti’s 10yard aerial to senior Josh Carufel.
Curran’s 68-yard sprint around left end set up Puccetti’s six-yard, naked bootleg around the right side with 6:14 left before the break, and – exactly 1:32 later – Beaudoin returned an errant Conlin toss 26 yards for the “pick-six” that made it 49-0. Actually, that’s the way the half ended. Senior Eric Governo capped North’s first possession of the third period with a fouryard TD plunge, and classmate Cam Lataille – who three plays before had dropped a sure interception – picked off Klaiman and sprinted 69 yards for another score.
SHS came close to avoiding the shutout in the waning seconds, but – on a fourthand-three – frosh Cole Vowels picked off his second in mere minutes to end it.
“Right out of the gate, Jordan scored on the kickoff, and we were psyched because we love to go on defense first,” stated Carufel, who had been nursing a sore left ankle but claimed to be 100 percent on Saturday. “We like to set the tone, and Jordan helped us. Coach had told us we had to control their quarterback because he was a great run threat, a very good athlete, and I thought we did that.
“Still, 62-0? I never expected that.” Offered Puccetti with his best Bill Belichick imitation: “At the end of the day, we’re just doing that works for us. The final score? It doesn’t matter. We’re on to Tiverton, that’s all.”