BLACKSTONE VALLEY MEMORIES November 26

Johnston, one of the finest teams in Class A football, proved too much for the gutsy Class B Central Falls Warriors and dealt the visitors a 35-14 loss in their Thanksgiving Day encounter. CF tallied touchdowns on Carlos DePina’s three-yard dive and Larry Cooper’s nine-yard dash. “I was proud of the way we fought back (28-0 second half deficit) and this is the best we’ve ever played the Panthers,” said Warrior coach Tony Rainone.

1982 1992

QB Jason Gagne connected on 11 of 19 passes for 111 yards and one touchdown as Central Falls sealed up its 1992 campaign on an upswing with a 20-8 Thanksgiving Day victory over hapless Hope at soggy Macomber Stadium. A Gagne to Rick Nievera nine-yard scoring strike and two short runs of one and two yards accounted for the Warriors TDs. “It’s nice to know that you don’t have to go through the off-season knowing you lost the last game,’ said coach Tony Rainone, whose team won its last two tilts and finished with a respectable 4-5-1 overall record.

Tiverton dominated Central Falls in their 10th annual Turkey Day matchup, 41-8, for its fifth straight win and eighth overall. CF coach Mo Jackson suited up only 13 players for the game for a variety of reasons – academics, injuries, quitting and being thrown off the team. But it was the evening before, when Tiger coach Bob Murray and his players bused up to CF to help the Warriors players and coaches shovel the snow off the Macomber Stadium field, that best symbolized the sportsmanship and good feeling surrounding the two teams.