Football Focus

Familiar path to the Super Bowl

For the second consecutive year, Hawks draw Portsmouth in Division I semifinals

Kevin Pomeroy, Sports Editor
Posted 11/20/14

Hosting a Division I semifinal game is nothing out of the ordinary for the Bishop Hendricken football team at this point, as it will do so for the fifth straight year this Friday night.

And, as it …

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Football Focus

Familiar path to the Super Bowl

For the second consecutive year, Hawks draw Portsmouth in Division I semifinals

Posted

Hosting a Division I semifinal game is nothing out of the ordinary for the Bishop Hendricken football team at this point, as it will do so for the fifth straight year this Friday night.

And, as it turns out, the Hawks’ postseason opponent won’t be very out of the ordinary either, as Portsmouth will come to town for the second straight year with a berth in the Super Bowl on the line.

The second-seeded Hawks and No. 3 Patriots play at 7 p.m., and Hendricken is hoping that recent trends continue across the board.

The Hawks have won eight straight playoff games and haven’t lost in the postseason since the 2009 Super Bowl against Barrington. Portsmouth, meanwhile, hasn’t played in a Super Bowl since 2010, when it lost to Hendricken, beginning the Hawks’ run of four consecutive titles.

Last year, Hendricken beat Portsmouth 36-15 in the semifinal game, and the Hawks have now beaten the Patriots three consecutive times entering Friday night.

Essentially, in recent seasons, this time of year – and this opponent – has belonged to Hendricken.

“I think these guys have been around long enough that everyone knows that it starts back at 0-0 here,” said Hendricken head coach Keith Croft. “It’s something refreshing to be honest with you to have the regular season behind you. The focus and the intensity get real narrowed.”

The Hawks and Patriots weren’t separated by a whole lot throughout the regular season, as Hendricken went 7-1 and Portsmouth went 5-3, but could have been 6-2 had it played all its starters in a season finale loss to Cranston West.

In their regular season meeting, back on Sept. 26, Hendricken out-lasted the Patriots 14-0.

Really, 14 points is all that separated Portsmouth from being the home team on Friday.

“I think Ryan Moniz, the coach there, does a really good job,” Croft said. “He’s built a really good program. They’re just one of those teams. They’re consistently a playoff team.”

The most remarkable thing about Portsmouth’s current season is how quickly the team has rebuilt and gotten back to the same place it was in last year. A season ago, the Patriots had All-Stater Matt Sewall doing just about everything, and fellow All-Stater Travis O’Brien was an 1,000-yard rusher as well.

Those two graduated, yet Portsmouth hasn’t missed a beat. Colin Tullson has stepped in at quarterback and become a dual-threat, accounting for 13 total touchdowns, and players like running back Ryan MacDonald and receiver Curtis Cory have become steady contributors.

“No matter what happens at the end of the year they’ve lost all these kids and you think they’re going to look different next year,” Croft said. “But it doesn’t matter who’s wearing a Portsmouth jersey. They always look the same. Tough, aggressive, physical. They don’t back down.”

The real strength of Portsmouth’s team, however, is its defense, which held Hendricken to its second-lowest point total of the season back in September – although the Hawks have grown substantially on the offensive side of the ball since then.

Portsmouth allowed just 158 points during the regular season, just four points per game more than Hendricken allowed.

The Hawks, of course, have the division’s top-ranked defense, and have scored substantially more points than Portsmouth (222-158).

But if there was ever a time this season that Hendricken has looked vulnerable, it’s probably now, as it lost to La Salle two weeks ago for its only loss of the year and then needed a late score to get past one-win South Kingstown 29-22 last week.

Plus, Portsmouth has had a way of pulling out close games this year, which will likely be the motto heading into this week – keep it close, keep it manageable and try to win late.

The Patriots have won four games by six points or less this season.

“They spread you out, they put points on the board,” Croft said. “They all have a system now that they believe in.”

Still, vulnerable is a subjective term, and the Hawks are probably co-favorites to win the title along with La Salle. With players like John Toppa, Lee Moses, Power Kanga, Shane Olson, Kwity Paye and others, Hendricken’s talent level is second-to-none.

And for the past five years, they’ve handled their business in the semifinal round.

On Friday, if they handle it again, they’ll be playing for a fifth straight Super Bowl.

The Hawks title defense starts in earnest this weekend.

“Move forward,” Croft said. “One game at a time.”

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