Main page | November 28, 2007 »

Seekonk falls in Mass. playoffs

Seekonk's magical undefeated season came to an end with a heartbreaking 10-7 loss to Hingham on a game-winning field goal in the final minute of play.

In a hard fought defensive battle, the game remained scoreless until the final minute of the first half when Seekonk's Chris Hanoian, as he has all year, put the Warriors on the board with a touchdown run from the 4-yard line. When Ron Case converted the point-after, it looked as if Seekonk would go to the locker room with a 7-0 lead.

But, Hingham, with just 42 seconds on the clock, marched down the field and into the end zone as time expired. A successful point-after and once again the teams were deadlocked 7-7 at the half.

In the second half it continued to be a defensive struggle with both teams managing sustained drives that ate up the clock but failed to put points on the board.

Finally, with just 38 seconds to go, Hingham's Mike Egan came on to kick a field goal that put the Harbormen ahead 10-7.

Seekonk wasn't quite done, using the 38 seconds remaining to drive deep into Hingham territory, but as time expired senior Josh Rosa's long pass into the end zone was batted away.

--SEEKONK HS

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 10:50 PM to High School | Permalink | Comments 0

Division IV: Classical vs. Central Falls

Emmanuel Tutu did just about everything to get Classical into the Division IV Super Bowl. Tutu scored four touchdowns and accounted for over 400 yards of total offense as the Purple routed Central Falls, 48-16.

Classical will play Exeter/West Greenwich in Super Bowl.

Tutu returned a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown, returned an interception 99 yards and scored on a 75-yard punt return.

Tutu's final score came on a 75-yard pass from Rocco Santopietro, who also ran for a 30-yard score and threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Nick Lafond.

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 10:10 PM to High School | Permalink | Comments 0

Division III: Ponaganset vs. East Greenwich

Nick Keeling ran for 106 yards and scored three touchdowns giving Ponaganset a 28-9 victory over East Greenwich and a berth in the Division III Super Bowl.

Ponaganset will play top-seed Moses Brown.

Keeling scored all of his touchdowns on the ground, two 4-yard runs and a 20-yard score.

Caleb Gelsomino later threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Russ Morin.

Greg Palmer returned an interception 80 yards for the lone East Greenwich touchdown and Brendan Murray kicked a 23-yard field goal.

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 9:32 PM to High School | Permalink | Comments 0

Division II: Toll Gate vs. Cranston East

Doug Johnson had all the answers last night, except one.

Johnson, a rugged, 6-foot, 200-pound junior running back had just played the game of his life. He scored three touchdowns, ran for 225 yards and spearheaded his Toll Gate team to a stunning 26-6 upset over top-seeded Cranston East in a Division II playoff semifinal at Cranston Stadium.

When it was over, Johnson was standing in the end zone with his teammates, most of whom were screaming, ``Super Bowl, Super Bowl, Super Bowl.’’ They were celebrating perhaps the biggest victory in school history when Johnson realized he did not have the answer to one question _ the one about the Super Bowl.

``I don’t even know the last time Toll Gate went to a Super Bowl,’’ he said as he and his teammates enjoyed themselves.

His coach, Steve Spaziano, was happy to provide the answer.

``Only once, in 1990. I was on the team,’’ Spaziano said. ``We got beat by one of those great Rogers teams, 24-0.’’ Spaziano not only was on the team, he was the captain for coach Emo DiNitto.

Spaziano has not made a big deal of the Super Bowl. He has spent more time getting his players to believe in themselves. Toll Gate has not been a football power. What’s more, when it met East in the regular season, the Bolt won, 28-6.

``We were intimiated. You could tell we were intimidated,’’ Johnson said of the first meeting between the teams. ``We weren’t ready to play. Tonight we were ready to play. On their turf and everything, we were ready.’’

``We changed some things,’’ Spaziano said.
On defense, Toll Gate went much of the way with three and four-man fronts designed to slow Cranston East star running back Geoffrey Gillson. Gillson, who injured his ankle in the Thanksgiving Day victory over Cranston West, did not play in the first quarter. He did play in the last three, but never got room to run.

Johnson, on the other hand, got plenty of room.

``The line was awesome,’’ he said. ``The holes were there.’’
Even when the holes were not there, Johnson ran over and through tacklers in a very, very impressive display.

Toll Gate took the lead through the air. Michael Zincone flipped a short pass to Joel Haduch on Toll Gate’s second possession. Haduch broke two tackles as he caught the ball and then outraced everyone 72 yards for the game’s first score. Cranston East responded by scoring on an eight-yard pass from Shay DiPina to Phillip Gibbs on its next possession.

That’s when Johnson took over. He completed an 87-yard, nine-play drive with a 12-yard scoring run.

Then, in the final minute of the first half, as Toll Gate seemed to be simply running out the clock, Johnson took a handoff, went left, cut back to the right, broke at least two tackles and raced 70 yards to make it 19-6 at the half. Toll Gate had 270 yards of offense in the first half alone. Johnson added still another score, from 37 yards, to clinch it in the final quarter and send the Titans to the bowl Saturday, also at Cranston Stadium against fellow upstart South Kingstown.

--PAUL KENYON

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 9:00 PM to High School | Permalink | Comments 0

Division II: South Kingstown vs. Shea

South Kingstown scored on its first three possessions and the fourth seeded Rebels never looked back as they advanced to the Division II Super Bowl with a 21-7 victory over top-seeded Shea.

Tim Hazard opened the South Kingstown 21-point first quarter, scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run.

Sean Hamill made it 14-0 on a 60-yard run and Josh Ponte added a 53-yard run.

South Kingstown ran for 334 yards with Ponte going for 114, Hamill 102 and Hazard 68.

South Kingstown's defense held Shea to 96 yards of total offense and forced four Raider turnovers. South Kingstown had seven sacks, four from Jay Dorsey, and Patrick Gee had a pair of second half interceptions.

Akeem Williams scored Shea's touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 15-yard pass from Albert Amado.

South Kingstown will play third-seed Toll Gate in the Super Bowl.

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 8:57 PM to High School | Permalink | Comments 0

Division III: Moses Brown vs. Johnston

EAST PROVIDENCE - He is a veteran, a captain and the starting quarterback, and last night Billy Cosmopulos lived up to each of those titles right when his team needed him most.

Completing 13 of 17 passes for 180 yards, including two of them for touchdown passes, as well as rushing for another 70 yards, the senior led Moses Brown to a 21-0 victory over Johnston in semifinal action of the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Division III playoffs, last night Pierce Stadium.

With the win, Quakers earned a return trip to the Citizens Bank Division III Super Bowl, where it will face Ponaganset at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Bryant University.

``He played about as good as we could have hoped for,’’ Moses Brown coach LaJhon Jones said of Cosmopulos. ``He’s been consistent all year, but I would say he saved his best game for the playoffs. He was a great leader out there.’’

Cosmopulos put the Quakers on the board in the first quarter when he hit Sushil Trivedi with a 30-yard touchdown pass, which Jordan Anderson followed with a successful kick for the extra point.

Mark Petros, who finished the game with about 80 yards on 10 carries, scored on a 5-yard run to send Moses Brown into halftime leading 13-0.

The Quakers – the top seed after finishing on top of Division III during the regular season with a 7-1 record - took a commanding lead in the third quarter when Trivedi hauled in a 47-yarder from Cosmopulos, then rushed for the 2-point conversion.

``Honestly, they were the better team tonight,’’ said Johnston coach Joe Acciardo, whose team made tremendous strides this season after going 2-6 and failing to make the playoffs last fall.

``We were inviting the run because we thought we would match up with them better that way. And they did run, but we didn’t tackle well and I thought we missed a lot of opportunities to stop that running game. When they beat us there, you have to say, `Okay, it’s not our time.’ ’’

Although Moses Brown had prevailed in the teams’ regular-season meeting, 42-34, the top-seeded Quakers say they knew they had their work cut out for them.

``All 11 guys played really well,’’ said Jones. ``It takes 11 guys to stop a team like that. We limited our missed tackles. We kept our game plan and our game plan worked this week.

``Defensively, I think we only allowed them four first downs in the whole game,’’ he added. ``We held (Matt Russo) to under 100 yards, and we bottled up Brandon Parillo. And we were really worried about those two guys.’’

This marks Moses Brown’s fifth trip to a Super Bowl Championship in seven years, its second in a row in Division III.

``We started the season 0-2, but these kids got better every week,’’ Jones said. ``They stumbled against Mt. Pleasant, but maybe that was a wake-up call because they’ve continued to get better since then. Hopefully we’ve saved our best game for Dec. 3 at Bryant.’’

--CAROLYN THORNTON

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 8:28 PM to High School | Permalink | Comments 0

Division IV: North Providence vs. EWG

WEST GREENWICH - The message Exeter/West Greenwich head coach Mike Messier gave his players back in August was clear and simple. He told them to play one game at time, but don’t forget what the final goal was – the Super Bowl.

The Scarlet Knights responded this season and with last night’s dominating 42-14 victory over North Providence in the Division IV semifinal game, Exeter/West Greenwich is now one victory away from a Super Bowl title.

“Oh, man,” said Messier, “you don’t know how good this feels right now for these kids. I got excited today just thinking about it and this is just phenomenal.”

With that said the Scarlet Knights’ third-year coach was doused with the celebratory Gatorade dump by his players.

“I knew that was coming,” he said afterwards. “They’ve wanted to do that for awhile now. That’s how exciting it is to be out here.”

Messier has been with the program since 1999, but has served as the head coach for the past three seasons. He has experienced all the peaks and valleys the team has endured, and the hard work has finally paid off.

From the opening kick off last night, the Scarlet Knights dominated. They scored on their first possession of the game and didn’t stop until the final buzzer.

Scarlet Knights senior quarterback Zachary Hornoff threw two touchdowns, connecting both times with senior wide receiver Rick Sheehan. Hornoff also ran for a touchdown, while senior running back Kevin Luczak provided two touchdowns and junior Gibson Fines added one. Luczak connected on all six extra-point kicks.

“This hasn’t even hit me yet,” said Luczak. “I’ve been working so hard to get here for a couple of years now and it’s finally here. It’s a dream come true.”

The Cougars scored all of their 14 points in the final quarter when Michael Rossi ran two touchdowns, and Antonio Folco added a two-point conversion.

“This is an outstanding group of kids,” said Cougars head coach Glenn Williams. “They are respectful on the field and off the field. I’m proud of the contribution they made to this program. They have planted a seed that will continue a tradition, and we’re going to get better each and every year.”

As the Cougars headed to their team bus after the loss, Williams told the players they are a family and that they worked hard.

As the celebration continued on the other side of the field, the Scarlet Knights will be back at practice today to prepare for their up coming Super Bowl opponent. It’s a long way from where this team was just three years ago when it struggled just to win a game.

“It means a lot of people are doing good things and doing those things right,” said Luczak. “Everybody came through and now there’s just one more game to go.”

--JOE McDONALD

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 8:13 PM to High School | Permalink | Comments 0

Division I: Hendricken vs. La Salle

WARWICK – Bishop Hendricken senior kicker Chris Surgento has hit some big field goals in his life, but none of them were bigger than the 30-yard kick he split between the uprights last night with 9:19 remaining in the Hawks Division I semifinal game against La Salle.

The field goal gave Bishop Hendricken a 9-7 lead and the Hawks defense did the rest, forcing a three-and-out on La Salle’s ensuing possession and then intercepting two passes on the Rams final two drives as Hendricken survived La Salle, 9-7, to advance to the Division I Super Bowl.

“It was just another kick,” Surgento said of what he was thinking just before he hit the game-winning field goal and his third field goal of the game. “It was nothing big. It was just another kick in the game. I didn’t feel any pressure. I was warmed-up. I was ready.”

His teammates weren’t surprised he hit the field goal.

“He works hard every single day in practice, kicking every single day, and he came up huge today,” Bishop Hendricken quarterback Thomas Verdi said. “He won the game for us. He’s a pressure player.”

It was because of Verdi, a sophomore quarterback who was thrust into just his second starting role because Hendricken senior QB Anthony Ferreira broke his ankle earlier this season, that Surgento was able to be the hero. After struggling against a fired-up La Salle defense that limited Hendricken’s offense – the best in Division I (31 points per game) – to just 62 first-half yards, Hendricken coach Keith Croft decided to put the ball in Verdi’s hands. He asked the sophomore to get the Hawks in position to win the game and he did.

“I had butterflies before the game but after the first initial hit, I got out of it and played like I know how to play,” Verdi said. “Taking [Ferreira’s’] spot is tough but I did what I could do.”

Trailing 7-3 at halftime, Verdi completed 8-of-11 passes for 107 yards in the second half to guide the Hendricken comeback.

“I was pumped up going into the second half,” Verdi said. “I knew what I had to do and got the job done.”

“He did a great job coming in in his first big game,” Surgento said of Verdi.

On their first possession of the second half, the Hawks marched 71 yards down the field and cut La Salle’s lead to 7-6 on a 26-yard Surgento field goal.

Hendricken’s defense forced a turnover on the Rams second play of their ensuing drive, which set up Surgento’s game-winning field goal.

“The defense did a great job tonight,” Surgento said.

Hendricken’s defense forced six turnovers in all, countering a huge effort by Rams running back Kendall Perry, who finished with 154 rushing yards.

“That’s a great football team we beat,” Surgento said. “They have a great defense, a great offense. It was tough but everyone played well and I got the opportunities to kick the field goals.”

La Salle fullback Neal Rooney scored on a three yard touchdown run on the Rams opening drive of the game, but Hendricken’s defense kept La Salle out of the end zone the rest of the way.

Hendricken will play St. Raphael Academy in Saturday’s Super Bowl at 1 p.m. at Pierce Field.

“We worked so hard all season for this,” Verdi said. “It paid off. We played an unbelievable game. We’re so psyched to be going to the Super Bowl.”

--ROB LEE

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 8:08 PM to High School | Permalink | Comments 0

Division I: SRA vs. Cranston West

Backup quarterback Tyler Malo scored on St. Raphael's first possession on a 2-yard run and the top-seeded and unbeaten Saints advanced to the Division I championship with a 6-0 victory over Cranston West.
St. Raphael will play Hendricken in the Super Bowl on Saturday.

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 7:53 PM to High School | Permalink | Comments 0

Projo PatsTalk with Shalise Manza Young

Here is this week's edition, in pictures and audio.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 1:50 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

BC suspends running back charged with assault

BOSTON (AP) - Boston College backup running back A.J. Brooks has been suspended from the team indefinitely after allegedly beating and kicking a 20-year-old man on campus.

Brooks was released on $250 bail Monday after pleading not guilty to charges including assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, for allegedly kicking the man with his shoe on, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley's office.

Brooks, a junior from Orlando, Fla., was suspended from the school on Sunday, pending the outcome of the case, Boston College spokesman Jack Dunn said. BC plays Saturday at the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game against Virginia Tech in Jacksonville, Fla.

The alleged victim, whom authorities did not identify, required stitches after suffering injuries to his head, neck and face during the fight about 2 a.m. Sunday morning, said Jake Wark, a spokesman for the Conley's office.

Campus police found the Weston man, who was visiting friends on campus, Wark said. The man was treated and released from Brigham and Woman's hospital.

It was unclear what started the fight, Wark said. Brooks reportedly told police the man pushed him and he responded by punching him and knocking him down.

Campus police arrested Brooks after a witness described him and what he was wearing. Police recognized the description as matching Brooks, whom they spoke to earlier in the evening, Wark said. Dunn said the school could not give any details of the incident or the police's earlier interaction with Brooks.
Brooks was taken into custody after he acknowledged being in a fight, Wark said.

Attempts to call Brooks on campus on Tuesday were unsuccessful. A call to his attorney was not immediately returned.

Coach Jeff Jagodzinski said Monday that Brooks was suspended for a violation of team rules.
Brooks played in seven games for the No. 12 Eagles (10-2) and ran 25 times for 79 yards and no touchdowns. His best season came as a freshman when he rushed for 160 yards in his first start and finished the season with 319 yards and three touchdowns on 57 carries.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 1:40 PM to College Sports | Permalink | Comments 0

Providence marathon scheduled in May

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Long-distance runners can start training now.

There’s a new marathon coming to Providence in May.

Officials from Johnson and Wales University and Cox Communications say the Cox Providence Marathon will happen May 4, the same weekend they’re hosting a series of other races called “Providence Rhode Races.”

The marathon will start at the Johnson and Wales University Harborside Campus, wind along the waterfront and portions of the East Side and East Providence. It ends at Johnson and Wales’ campus in downtown Providence.

They say they plan to hold the marathon annually.

Organizers hope as many as 10,000 runners will participate in the marathon and the other competitions.

Ray Nelson, a certifier for USA Track & Field, says runners could use the Providence marathon to qualify for the 2009 Boston Marathon.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 1:36 PM to Running | Permalink | Comments 0

Photo: Red carpet night for the Red Sox

AP photo / Steven Senne
Curt Schilling walks the red carpet at the Wang Theatre, in Boston, for Monday night's premiere of the official MLB World Series video. Click here to read more about the event, and click here to suggest your title for the World Series DVD. By the way, the DVD goes on sale today.

Posted by Peter Phipps  at 8:59 AM to Red Sox | Permalink | Comments 0

Photos: It was a lovely night in Pittsburgh

In case you didn't see the highlights, last night's Monday Night Football game was played in a torrential rain, on a playing surface that had just recently (and ill-advisedly) been replanted, and the result was a complete mess. The Steelers beat the Dolphins, 3-0, in the lowest-scoring game in Monday Night history. Here are a few photos of the action from the AP:

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 8:56 AM | Permalink | Comments 0