The annual Senior Bowl at Johnston High School was a grinding, defensive battle with an edge, as Team Stebbins defeated Team Toppa 10-0.

The two sides were named after legendary coaches, Edward “Ted” Stebbins and John Toppa. Stebbins coached at Cranston East for 21 years, bringing a championship to the school in 1987 with an upset of then-undefeated Rogers.

“It meant a lot,” Cranston East running back John Anderson, the lone ’Bolts’ representative, said of getting the win in Stebbins’ honor. “I was also honored to get to meet him before he passed and I didn’t know much about his legacy till then, but to know he was such a good coach to have this team named after him makes me feel proud to be here for my team. [I’m] proud to be able to put a jersey on for him.”

Among Toppa’s career highlights were 11 state titles as the head coach at Rogers, as well as a field named in his honor at Freebody Park in Newport.

Both sides struggled to find pay dirt throughout the afternoon, but Team Stebbins broke through late in the first quarter for the difference-maker. On the first play of Team Toppa’s second drive, La Salle quarterback Jace Pena coughed up the football on a botched run play. Shea’s Jeovon Fortes fell on the fumble, allowing Team Stebbins to take control at the Toppa 12-yard line.

A defensive pass interference call on third down would put Team Stebbins in prime position with first-and-goal at the 5-yard line. Anderson carried the rock for four yards to the goal line to give his side a few chances to punch it in. Cranston West quarterback and Stebbins offensive MVP Ryan Marsella would take it in himself for the game’s only touchdown.

“Basically, they just told me, ‘It’s one yard, QB sneak,’” Marsella said of the goal-line game plan. “I went in the huddle, I said ‘All right, listen, everybody push me in, I’m gonna score.’”

From that point until the end of the half, each side had chances to either extend the lead or level the score. After a bad punt from Pena, Stebbins would take over at the Toppa 24 on its next drive. The squad couldn’t get a first down, though, and turned it over after Marsella’s keeper was stopped short of the line to gain.

Team Toppa got the ball back at its own 15 and embarked on a nearly 20-play drive to the other end of the field, draining the rest of the second quarter. An unsportsmanlike conduct call, one of 11 total in the game, would eventually set Team Toppa up with first-and-goal at the 5.

Team Stebbins’ defense stood up, though, led by strong performances from West’s Drew Watts and Kerwins Pinthiere. A couple failed keepers, a short run from Hendricken’s Jake Derderian and a delay of game would eventually give Toppa a third-and-goal on the Stebbins 12 with just more than a minute to go in the half.

Cumberland quarterback Jake Salisbury’s keeper provided no wiggle room on third down, making it fourth-and-goal with 18 seconds left. Salisbury would find Classical’s Gbatoh Browne in the end zone, but he caught it just outside the boundaries to turn the ball over on downs.

Team Stebbins got the ball out of halftime and used an 11-play drive to build its lead. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and 20-yard reception from West Warwick’s Avery Williamson gave Team Stebbins a first down at the Toppa 25 right out of the gate.

Marsella would slash his way for a key nine yards, setting up a 26-yard field goal for Shea’s Leandro DeBrito to bump the score to 10-0.

Team Toppa would drive twice more deep into Stebbins territory, once up to the 12 and up to the 32. Those rallies stalled, though, as Team Stebbins’ defense locked down on the passing game. Midway through the fourth quarter, Salisbury uncorked a pass down the sideline in the opposing red zone, but Stebbins defensive MVP Bryan Blackmore (Scituate) picked it off.

“No doubt,” Marsella said of his confidence in the defense to hold off Team Toppa. “It would have been nice to get one more, pull ahead, but the defense played great, shutting them out. Nothing better.”

Classical’s Jarrell De Los Santos was Team Toppa’s offensive MVP, while Cumberland’s Andre Bibeault was the defensive MVP.

Also representing Cranston on Team Stebbins were West’s Nick Almonte, Robert Guzman and Matt Malo.