Turnovers doom East in playoff loss

By Jacob Marrocco
Posted 11/16/16

Cranston East didn't give the ball away much during the regular season, but it suffered from a turnover problem at the worst possible time on Friday night. The situation wasn't ideal, either, as the 'Bolts were

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Turnovers doom East in playoff loss

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Cranston East didn’t give the ball away much during the regular season, but it suffered from a turnover problem at the worst possible time on Friday night.

The situation wasn’t ideal, either, as the ’Bolts were eliminated from the Division I playoffs by No. 3 Portsmouth, 35-22. The Patriots scored 28 points off five turnovers, taking advantage of nearly every mistake East made.

“We haven’t really turned the ball over,” East head coach Tom Centore said. “Tonight we did, and I couldn’t tell you what caused it. We’ve had games with penalties at times, but turnovers are not something we’ve had. Interceptions, fumbles, haven’t had that at all.”

The only score of the first half was generated by way of an interception. The East defense had just finished off one of the year’s most impressive stands, stopping Portsmouth on 14 plays in the red zone after two roughing calls on fourth down.

The Patriots turned the ball over on downs, and East seemed to have swung the momentum. On second-and-7 from his own 31, quarterback Justin Neary fired a long ball to the right sideline, but John Roche snatched it for Portsmouth at midfield.

Portsmouth quarterback Sean Coyne hit wide receiver Adam Parson for a 42-yard gain down to the East 8, where Roche would punch it in two plays later on an end-around. Portsmouth took a 7-0 lead into the break, but East’s defense had kept it close.

The ’Bolts forced a punt on the Patriots’ drive out of halftime, stuffing running back Alex Khalfayan on a third-and-1.

Running back Malik Gavek got a little steam on the next East drive, but it would eventually stall and bring the punting crew out to the turf. Jay Bast’s punt was blocked, but it ricocheted out to an East special teamer for a first-down run. However, the ball came loose and Portsmouth fell on it in the scrum, setting up shop at the ’Bolts’ 45.

It wouldn’t take long for the opportunistic Patriots to strike again. On third-and-5 from the East 29, Coyne dashed up the gut untouched for his first touchdown of the night.

Portsmouth’s offense wouldn’t be off the field for long. Linebacker Noah Johnson fell on an East fumble just a few plays later, again giving the Patriots a short field at the ’Bolts’ 45. This time a little trickery got the job done, as backup signal caller Kyle Bicho hit Coyne in stride from 45 yards out to build a 21-0 lead.

“He can do so many things,” Centore said of Coyne. “He’s fast, he can throw the football fairly well, he’s just a threat on every play. You have to worry about him. They have a lot of good players, but Coyne makes the other players so much better. Especially being the quarterback. He’s dangerous. He’s a special player.”

East’s offense went to work clawing its way back.

Neary heaved a deep throw to sophomore Robenson Antoine on second-and-8 from his own 24, and the elusive wideout darted down the sideline for a 76-yard touchdown. The extra point was botched, but the ’Bolts sensed blood in the water.

The East defense shut down the Patriots on their next drive, and the offense got some life from another long play. Starting at his own 37, Gavek hustled 44 yards down the field to crack into the Portsmouth red zone.

Portsmouth sacked Neary on first-and-goal and stuffed Gavek to force third down. Neary flicked a pass to the back of the end zone toward Jake Palazzo, who reeled it in one-handed and managed to get his foot down in bounds for the score. Bast ran in the 2-point conversion to cut the lead to 21-14 with 5:50 to go.

“They don’t fold,” Centore said. “That’s what they are, and I think it’s going to go a long way. We’ve obviously got one more game, but so many young kids return and so many kids are going to have that trait to never stop. At 21-0, they could have folded, and then we were right in that football game.”

For all of their success throughout the game, the ’Bolts could not stop Coyne in the second half. He ran for 12 yards on the first play of Portsmouth’s ensuing drive, then cruised down the right sideline for a 49-yard touchdown. A three-play, 65-yard score that took just one minute, 35 seconds gave the Patriots a valuable cushion.

“If we didn’t put a good drive together, up 21-14, they would have all the confidence in the world,” Portsmouth head coach Ryan Moniz said. “[Coyne]’s a selfless player, we put him in a couple different positions. He’s special, he’s a playmaker. His competitiveness is off the charts, but it’s never over the top. He’s a consummate team player.”

Parson put the nail in the coffin, courtesy of another turnover. He read Neary’s third-down throw perfectly, taking an interception near midfield back to pay dirt to effectively put the game away with 3:30 to go.

Isaiah Hinds would pull down an acrobatic touchdown catch with 1:06 remaining, but Portsmouth recovered the onside kick to kneel out the clock and clinch its spot in the semifinals.

Portsmouth will take on the unenviable task of playing top-seeded Hendricken, which has won the last six Division I state championships. The Hawks and Patriots met once this year on Aquidneck Island, with the boys in green-and-gold coasting to a 54-14 victory.

“This is why we compete in this division,” Moniz said. “We played them a few weeks ago and we were still shell-shocked, still reeling from the previous loss to South Kingstown. Then [Hendricken] came in and absolutely overwhelmed us. We did not play nearly as well as we’re capable of. I’m hopeful, I’m confident based on the group that we have that we’ll perform, or compete, a lot better than we did the first time.”

East will have a week to prepare for its annual Thanksgiving showdown with crosstown rival Cranston West. The Falcons have been red-hot as of late, winning three of their last four games.

“That Thanksgiving Day game, it’s always a big game for us,” Centore said. “Hopefully they don’t stay too down, too long and we’ll get ready for this one.”

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