By ALEX SPONSELLER The Cranston West football team fell to host Burrillville 21-14 last Saturday in a tightly-contested Division I matchup.

Knotted at 14-14 late in the fourth quarter, the West defense would need a stop to end the surging Burrillville offense. It appeared that the defense would get just that, however, a personal foul call was dealt for a hit on a defenseless player which extended the Bronco drive. Burrillville capitalized, getting the game-winner on a rushing touchdown which would be enough to secure the win.

The West sideline was upset with the game-altering call, but head coach Tom Milewski felt that player safety is paramount.

“I saw it one way, the official that was there saw it another way and made the call. Ultimately, it comes back to the safety of the players and that is what we want to worry about,” said Milewski.

After a scoreless first quarter, West would take a 7-0 lead when quarterback Matt DeFusco connected with Hudson Carvalho on a touchdown pass. Burrillville would get on the board just before halftime to make it 7-6 at the break.

The Broncos took a 14-7 lead in the third quarter after scoring a touchdown and following it up on a 2-point conversion. Marcus Chung would haul in a touchdown pass from DeFusco early in the fourth to even things at 14-14.

Despite the loss, the Falcons have competed with top teams over the past few weeks and Milewski has been encouraged by the progress made.

“We’ve definitely gotten better from Week 1 to now. We had some more of the questions that we had get answered, the kids are working hard, now we just need to figure out a way to get over that hump and get that first win under league play. The kids played hard the last two games but we haven’t finished yet. That’s what we need to work on – finishing,” said Milewski.

The Falcons will continue to grind through a tough schedule, facing powerhouses Central this week on the road then hosting La Salle the following week.

“They’ll be OK. We have a tough schedule of games coming up, but if they go home and look in the mirror and feel that they have gotten better than the previous day, then they will be OK,” said Milewski. “When you are facing teams like Central and La Salle that are firing on all cylinders, you can’t afford many mistakes. We need to retool some of the issues that we’ve had and improve on some of the minor details. We’ve been doing some things well that we can also continue to improve on.”

As West gets prepared to make a push here in the back half of the schedule, Milewski has been happy for the kids to return to competing at a high level and feeling the Friday night atmosphere again.

“The kids are pumped. There of been a lot of things this season at West that have been uniquely special. Having the turf back at our home field, having the crowd back, the band back, the cheerleaders, it’s been great and I am happy for the seniors,” said Milewski. “A few more wins would be nice, but good teams find a way and things will click. Once they do, it is going to be great.”