Road to Cranston begins
Shea ready for Bulldogs’ bite
PAWTUCKET – The euphoria of clinching the No. 2 seed and a home playoff game was still fresh when Shea football head coach Dino Campopiano made the short drive over to Moses Brown last Saturday afternoon.
The Quakers were hosting Westerly and what unfolded was a back-andforth shootout that figured to give Campopiano and his assistant coaches plenty of food for thought heading into Shea’s Division II quarterfinal round clash with the Bulldogs at Max Read Field tonight at 6.
The game tape from Moses Brown’s wild 46- 42 win over Westerly also confirmed what Campopiano saw with his own two eyes – there’s no shortage of playmakers for the Raiders to contend with.
“They went to Moses Brown ready to play and I don’t expect anything different,” said Campopiano.
Running behind a Westerly offensive line that Campopiano lauded as one of the biggest he’s seen in a long time, the Bulldogs’ Single Wing formation features several running backs who are an astonishing blend of speed, athleticism, and power. At the top of the list is junior tailback Tristan Turano, he of the four-touchdown barrage against Moses Brown.
“He’s one of the best around,” Campopiano noted about Turano.
Westerly’s cadre of ball carriers also includes senior Ryan Holloway, who rushed for a score against the Quakers. Holloway also handles the extrapoint tries.
“When they’re not running, they’re blocking well for one another,” said Campopiano. “The Single Wing is an old-time offense, but they run it well. They have the perfect personnel and they do a great job with it.”
The Raiders come in with a 5-2 record in Division II- B while Westerly made it through the regular season with a 4-3 mark against II-A competition, which translated into the three seed. The Raiders qualified for the postseason for the fourth straight year and come into the 2017 installment of the second season as the defending Super Bowl champs.
In some respects, Campopiano’s crew got a jump start on the playoff-like pressure last week. The circumstances heading into the regu- lar- season finale against Middletown were simple and straightforward. Win and the Raiders would get to stay at home for the quarters. Lose to the Islanders and the road back to the Division II Super Bowl on Sunday. Dec. 3 at Cranston Stadium would start out with a road contest.
The Raiders responded in a major way with a 42-7 rout of the Islanders. The performance was impressive on several levels, though Campopiano purposely singled out his defense and commend- ed the unit for the job it did.
“I was proud of the kids for the way they played, but that was last week. Hopefully the kids carry over what they did into this week,” said Campopiano. “It’s a brandnew season. Everybody is zero and zero. We’re looking to play better than we did last week.”
For Shea seniors such as running back/ defensive back Devon Fonseca and receiver/ defensive back Gerald Soe, they know that time is running out on their interscholastic football careers. They also understand what it takes to get back to the big game.
“We have quite a few guys who have been around and part of the last three years of success that we’ve enjoyed. They want to be back there,” said Campopiano. “Based on what I’ve seen in the last week, you can tell they want it. They also know no one is going to hand it to us. They have to go out and work for it.”
Like many schools around the state, Shea will be observing Veteran’s Day on Friday. Usually kickoff for games at Max Read Field is 7 p.m., but Campopiano said Friday’s game was purposely bumped up by an hour to 6 o’clock since. Plus, the early start will enable Westerly to return home sooner than it normally would from a typical Friday night game that’s being contested in the opposite end of the state.
“I think our kids will be ready to go and so will Westerly’s,” said Campopiano when asked if having a day off from school poses any sort of challenge to the game-day routine heading into a do-or-die playoff clash. “Hopefully the kids will use the day wisely by resting and be ready to go.”
Friday’s winner will face the survivor of Moses Brown-Mount Hope in the semifinals at a time and place to be determined next weekend.