Hawks, ’Bolts set for new-look Super Bowl rematch

Kevin Pomeroy
Posted 10/9/14

In the early part of its current four-plus year reign atop the state, the Bishop Hendricken football team’s chief rival was La Salle.

The Hawks and Rams met twice in the Super Bowl, and were …

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Hawks, ’Bolts set for new-look Super Bowl rematch

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In the early part of its current four-plus year reign atop the state, the Bishop Hendricken football team’s chief rival was La Salle.

The Hawks and Rams met twice in the Super Bowl, and were the most consistent programs in Division I. At the end of the day, La Salle is still probably Hendricken’s most notable foe, but as of late, the case can be made for Cranston East.

Hendricken has run into the ’Bolts in each of the last two postseasons, knocking off No. 3 East in the semifinals as a No. 2 seed in 2012, and then defeating fourth-seeded East in the Super Bowl 45-34 last year in one of the most thrilling Super Bowls in recent memory.

Combine the playoff showdowns with a pair of hotly-contested regular season match-ups, and Hendricken and East have become rivals, intentionally or not.

The two teams will renew the budding rivalry this Friday night at Cranston Stadium, at 7 p.m. It’s the seventh meeting between the two in just four and a half seasons, and the third time in the last 10 D-I games, dating back to last year and including the playoffs.

“I work in Cranston, and definitely when you play them or West you get a lot more people talking about it,” said Hendricken head coach Keith Croft. “I think it’s great for high school football, I think it’s great for football in Cranston and it’s great for football in Rhode Island.”

The rivalry, as intense as it’s been, has also been one-sided. Since Cranston East moved up to Division I in 2010, Hendricken is the only team it hasn’t beaten at least once.

“I think we’ve established that we haven’t beaten them,” said East head coach Tom Centore, “but it’s a good rivalry. Kids look forward to the game, people look forward to the game. I think it becomes a marquee match-up.”

There’s no shame in not having beaten Hendricken in the recent past, as the rest of Division I is in a similar boat. Only La Salle, Barrington, East Providence and Portsmouth have handed Hendricken a loss of any kind since 2010, and only the Rams have beaten Hendricken more than once.

But that doesn’t mean the ’Bolts are content with how the games against Hendricken have gone. They were a handful of plays away from defeating the Hawks during the regular season in 2012, and in last year’s Super Bowl, the game could have gone either way.

Yet, for all the history between the two teams, the past is largely irrelevant in how both teams are preparing for Friday. As different as the ’Bolts now look from one season to the next, so do the Hawks.

“I think we’ll [watch the Super Bowl game film], just to kind of see how they’ve lined up to us, some of their formations and stuff,” Croft said. “But each year is different and unique and a different personnel setting.”

East, ranked No. 5 in the Rhode Island Sports Media Poll, sits at 1-1 and is coming off a dramatic 13-7 victory over Cranston West last week.

Hendricken defeated Barrington 41-32 last week to improve to 3-0 and is the top-ranked team in the state.

While the game was unquestionably a big win for Hendricken, it didn’t happen without a plethora of mistakes. The Hawks fumbled the ball away twice, and racked up well over 100 yards of penalties.

“I think our primary focus this week starting today is going to be penalties,” Croft said. “I’m going to be honest with you, we don’t really know what we’re going to do about that. We’re at kind of a loss.”

The running game has also been a little stagnant, as Hendricken hasn’t establishing a dominant chain-moving ground attack like it has had in the past, outside of senior quarterback John Toppa.

Getting that going is another point of emphasis.

“All the backs have been good, and they’ve shown big play ability,” Croft said. “But to coin a phrase here, I think I’d like to see a little bit more ‘small play ability.’ Like two, three yards, here we come. Now stop us.”

Still, Toppa has been a clear bright spot. He’s given them a physical running element from the quarterback spot that they haven’t had since Mike Maloof in 2010. Against Barrington, Toppa ran for over 100 yards, threw for over 100 and accounted for five total touchdowns.

“I think the quarterback adds a huge dimension to them that is different than they had a year ago,” Centore said. “This kid is a different type of runner. He’s more physical.”

Defensively, Hendricken is mix of newcomers and veterans, but they’ve already established themselves as a physical group. Two weeks ago, they shut-out Portsmouth in leading the Hawks to a 14-0 win.

For perspective, East lost to the same Portsmouth team the week prior, giving up 29 points.

“Defensively they’re as good as last year, if not probably better,” Centore said. “They have different guys but they seem to be more physical up front.”

Centore’s team has had bright spots on both side of the ball this year, as it scored 25 points against Portsmouth and allowed only seven points against West.

East might have to diversify how it attacks the Hawks, as it has been reliant – understandably so – on senior star Marquem Monroe, who has accounted for all of the team’s six league touchdowns thus far.

“If he isn’t the best back in the state, it’s a very small list,” Croft said of Monroe. “He’s right up there. He can break it from any point on the field. I think he’s the most dangerous player we’ve played.”

For East, a win would go a long way toward getting itself in position for a playoff bid. It will need at least four wins to be in the conversation, and with teams like La Salle, Barrington and South Kingstown still on the schedule, knocking off the Hawks could be the difference between being in or out.

It won’t be easy, as history shows. Hendricken has won its last eight games at Cranston Stadium – four of which have been Super Bowls – with its last loss coming to Barrington in the 2009 Super Bowl.

It hasn’t lost a regular season game there in over a decade.

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