Lions roar past Warriors
Petrone, Durang combine for 434 rushing yards, 5 touchdowns
LINCOLN — Tyler Durang came into Wednesday night’s Battle on the Blackstone against rival Central Falls/BVP co-op needing just 78 rushing yards to become the first Lion since 2018 to eclipse 1,000 yards in a season.
Durang, who was unaware of just how close he was to the milestone, didn’t even need a full quarter to reach the mark. The bruising junior running back didn’t stop at 1,000, because he ended up rushing for 214 yards and a pair of touchdowns against weary Warrior squad fresh off a Super Bowl defeat.
And yet, Durang wasn’t his team’s MVP because talented senior running back Christian Petrone rushed for 218 yards – 203 of which came in the second half – and three touchdowns to go along with one catch for 28 yards and a completed pass, as the Lions retained bragging rights over their local rival with a 41-12 victory at Ferguson Field.
“We had to do this because we wanted to do this for our seniors and we love them,” Durang said. “We want them to go out on a good note and
I think 41-12 is a pretty good note. We have a healthy competition as running backs. We all want the ball and we’re all blocking when we don’t have the ball. We just want the best for each other, so we hold our blocks and get yards.”
“I saw Tyler’s work in the first half – and he’s an absolute dog – but coach’s message at halftime gave us the go in the second half,” Petrone said. “Everyone came together as one unit and did our thing. This is everything you live for. I was here my freshman year when we won it. We didn’t get to play our sophomore year, but we got the dub my junior year and senior year.”
The season didn’t end the way the Warriors wanted it to after defeats to Smithfield in Saturday’s Division IV Super Bowl and dropped their seventh straight Battle on the Blackstone Thanksgiving eve clash. CF senior Alex Maia displayed his prodigious talent in the defeat, as the wide receiver caught six passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns.
Maia’s career ended with a trick play to end the game. The Warriors ran a halfback pass and senior Ty O’Connell, who rushed for 72 yards, threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to his classmate.
“We’ve been working on that play the last few days and [O’Connell] just threw a good pass and I caught it,” Maia said. “The season didn’t end the way we wanted it to with the Super Bowl loss and this loss, but it was a great season. We came from not winning a game last year to going to the Super Bowl and I’m so proud of these guys.”
The contest was also the final for a pair of people who have been a big part of the Warrior for the better part of two decades. Athletic director Anthony Ficocelli is leaving his post to become North Providence’s AD next month. His replacement, soccer coach Carl Africo, was in attendance Wednesday night.
CF coach Jeff Lapierre, who guided the Warriors to four trips to the Super Bowl, including the 2005 D-IV title and the 2018 D-III title, coached his final game Wednesday.
“Every year when I get to Thanksgiving, I feel it’s time for the season to be over – whether I’m coming back or not,” Lapierre said. “In January my engine starts to rev back up and that’s when I’m going to feel it. I’m totally at piece and I have a great bunch of guys to ride back home with. This was my choice and I’ll miss it, but it’s time for me to go to my kids’ high-school events.”
As poorly as the second half went for the visitors, CF was down just two points with one minute left in the second quarter. Junior quarterback Sean Clifford gave the Lions an 8-0 lead with a one-yard touchdown run, but the Warriors answered one play later when Maia reeled in a 53-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Sha-Dean Lovett.
After a Durang fumble, O’Connell and Maia helped the Warriors secure a firstand-goal from the 9-yard line. Penalties and incompletions helped the Lions keep the Warriors out of the end zone and the hosts went into halftime up 15-6 after a Durang 56-yard touchdown run.
“That stop was great and the defense came up big just as they did all year long,” Lincoln coach Sean Cavanaugh said. “I’m happy for the kids because they all made plays to help us win. They carried on from there. We had some things we needed to fix [after the quarterfinal loss to West Warwick] and we showed we’re a balanced attack.”
The Warriors attempted a fake punt on the first drive of the second half, but Maia’s run was snuffed out by Lincoln’s special teams. Four plays later, Durang scored his second touchdown of the evening with a 14-yard run.
And then Petrone took over in his final game in a Lincoln uniform. He rushed for a 10-yard touchdown run at the end of the third quarter and followed it with touchdown runs of 64 and 69 yards in the fourth quarter to finish the scoring.
“We knew we had to fight because CF has some very good playmakers and we had to put our foot down and win this game,” Petrone said.