The fall sports playoffs are winding down here and we are down to only a few teams.
Last week saw some great games be played across football and soccer. Some of our athletes got to experience the joy of hoisting a championship while others dealt with the agony of defeat.
Our big winners this past weekend were the Hendricken Hawks, who beat La Salle in penalty kicks to bring home their first soccer title since 1998. The team reached the finals in 2001 and 2009 but came up short.
Hendricken was the best team in the state in the regular season and took the top seed into the playoffs. One thing that we’ve learned in the past decade is that seeds truly do not matter in Division I soccer. They just don’t.
This year felt like a true four-team race between Hendricken, La Salle, Cumberland and North Kingstown. Heck, even Moses Brown was right there as well. They all beat up on each other throughout the fall and when the semifinals rolled around, it felt like the four teams shared a 25% chance of winning it all.
Hendricken’s offense stole the show in the semis by putting up six goals against the Clippers. Brent Karpowich was a power hitter all year and guys like Jack Mefford and Tristan Boyns were more than enough behind him for the Hawks to light up the scoreboard.
Hendricken led 2-0 early against La Salle in the finals and it felt like another steamrolling was in the works, but the Rams’ defense clamped down in the second half, pulled off the unthinkable in the final two minutes and sent the game to overtime.
Hendricken keeper Michael Carreiro took over from there and got the job done in the shootout. It was a complete team win in every sense of the word.
We usually try to focus on the kids in these moments, as we should, but it’s hard to not be happy for Hendricken coach Mickey Rooney. Yes, he has won a championship before, but to see him get back to the mountaintop after years of heartbreak, it was great to see. He’s one of the best coaches in the state, if not the best, and he was long overdue and this year’s club was determined to get it done for him. What a story.
Our other soccer team in action was Johnston. The Panthers came up short to Scituate, who finished the year undefeated and not really tested at any point. Apparently, the Spartans were up for a promotion to Division II prior to the season started but wound up sticking around. I don’t like to take credit from teams, but take a look at Scituate’s box scores and get back to me.
Anyway, the Panthers went winless in 2022 and had just one victory in 2023. A lot of players returned, but no one, me included, would have projected this club as a championship contender. A rising club? Sure. A possible playoff team? Yes. But what it pulled off down the stretch was remarkable.
The Panthers in many ways arrived a year early and should be seen as an early favorite to win it all next season. Andre Amato, Freddy Magana Landaverde, Sebastian Saucedo, Steven Vera Vaca and Josue Vasquez are all slated to return. This team will be another year older and wiser and should be right in the mix, not under the radar.
We had four football teams in action.
Pilgrim beat Johnston in a 28-27 meeting. The two teams battled to double overtime just a few weeks back, so it was no surprise to see this game go right down to the wire once again.
Johnston came out strong early, and although Pilgrim never allowed the Panthers to run away with it, Johnston was a step ahead in the first half. Pilgrim did what Pilgrim does in the second half. It ran a balanced offense, a clutch defense, and came up with a game-changing play on special teams when it recovered its own kickoff to set up a double score.
No team in the state, regardless of division, is as well-balanced as Pilgrim. The Pats may not have the best offense, they may not have the best defense, but they are dangerous on both sides of the ball and take advantage of having the best special teams unit there is. Pilgrim seems to always hit a home run when the game is on the line and it has every chance to pull off the upset against Ponaganset this week in the semis.
As for Johnston, the Panthers deserve a lot of credit for shaking off a slow start this season and making the playoffs. They were gutted over the offseason as they graduated 11 seniors. For them to improve each week and make it happen is impressive. Matt Clements will be graduating which will leave a massive void under center and Dean Paris will also be graduating. Most other positions will be returning, including Lyalo Harrison-Perez. Johnston will be back in the playoffs, no doubt.
Cranston East fell to top-seeded Classical. I’ll pat myself on the back when it comes to the Bolts, because I predicted that this team would be very much in the playoff picture. Yes, they went 2-6 and grabbed the eighth seed … doesn’t mean my prediction was wrong.
I know it is cliché to look back at a 2-6 team and say, ‘you saw signs of hope down the stretch,’ but that’s exactly what we got. East beat Central Falls and then edged East Greenwich. Two wins are two wins, and the finale was for the last playoff spot. The Bolts stepped up when they had to and will now be returning a young roster. This rebuild is likely going to take another year or two, but East could be a breakout candidate next year.
Lastly, let me end on a sourer note.
Cranston West got absolutely robbed in its loss to Portsmouth. Not robbed on the field, but off.
The Falcons drove all the way to Portsmouth for a Friday night quarterfinal, only to be told upon arrival that there were no refs scheduled for the game and none would be available in time for kickoff. The teams elected to postpone until Saturday for 1 p.m. Well, Saturday rolls around, the team is boarding the bus, only to get a call that the new time would be 5 p.m.
Sure enough, Portsmouth rolled to the decisive win to advance to the next round. The Patriots were fresh off a win over Hendricken so you have to give them credit, they were, are, on an absolute tear.
But for West, talk about having the chips stacked against you. Having to travel to the other side of the state twice with multiple schedule issues. I’m sure those kids were exhausted by kickoff.
Anyway, although the Falcons had championship aspirations and came up short, it was not a bad return to Division I. West got off to a scorching start by beating North Kingstown and aforementioned Portsmouth, but would see a bunch of ups and downs from there on.
My biggest takeaway from West’s season is that it goes to show how tough Division I is. The Falcons had the quarterback in Kelan Cornell, the playmakers in Charlie Cornell, Anthony Salas and Jake Anzivino, as well as an experienced, tough defense led by Adrian Samayoa.
West had everything it needed, but unfortunately, so did every other team in Division I. I have a feeling if a new seven-week season started today, these 2-5 Falcons could wind up going 5-2. The division is just so damn close and competitive.