Hawks stay unbeaten with win over West

Jacob Marrocco
Posted 11/4/14

Bishop Hendricken High School eliminated Cranston High School West from playoff contention with a 35-12 victory in wet and windy conditions at Cranston Stadium on Saturday.

Hendricken senior …

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Hawks stay unbeaten with win over West

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Bishop Hendricken High School eliminated Cranston High School West from playoff contention with a 35-12 victory in wet and windy conditions at Cranston Stadium on Saturday.

Hendricken senior quarterback John Toppa led the way for the Hawks with 165 total yards – 91 through the air and 74 on the ground – and two total touchdowns in the first half. Senior running back Gary Gibbs collected 76 total yards and a rushing score before exiting with a knee injury in the first quarter.

“We’re hopeful for some positive news on his knee injury, but [Gibbs] played his heart out today,” Hendricken head coach Keith Croft said. “It’s the best I’ve seen him run all year. He’s physical, he’s running guys over and he’s a big part of why we were moving the ball.”

West, on the other hand, has struggled to contain big plays this season, and it was bit again early on. On Hendricken’s first drive, Toppa took the ball 34 yards to the end zone on the fourth play just less than 90 seconds into the game. The touchdown was set up by Gibbs, who had runs of 8 and 9 yards on the drive.

A quick three-and-out from the Falcons and punt against the wind set up the Hawks at the Cranston West 42-yard line to start their second drive, and they took advantage of the field position. Toppa’s 24-yard dash set Hendricken up in the red zone, where Gibbs took the ball 18 yards for his only touchdown of the day.

The Falcons’ second drive ended with negative yardage after senior quarterback Steven Furtado, who also worked as their punter, threw one of seven incompletions and got sacked by senior Lee Moses. The Cranston West offense was held to 25 yards in the first quarter, all of which came on the ground.

“I think they played better than us,” Stoehr said. “I think they came to play. They played faster, they played better. I don’t think [the weather] made much of a difference. We just looked slow. We looked slow from the beginning. We didn’t protect the football and we haven’t thrown the football very well all year. The wind didn’t help us on that either. We didn’t stop trying, but unfortunately that’s what happens. They were better than us.”

Hendricken built its lead to 21-0 with 2:29 left in the first when Toppa connected with junior Shane Olson from 11 yards out, the first completion for either side. Junior running back Jake Derderian helped fill in for Gibbs and gained 10 yards on the drive.

West’s best chance to score in the first three quarters was a 52-yard drive that brought the Falcons to the Hendricken 5-yard line. Furtado’s 23-yard rush set them up in the red zone, but two incompletions resulted in a turnover-on-downs.

The Hawks got on the board again before the end of the half when Derderian punched the ball in from 4 yards out. Toppa set up the score with a 9-yard run and a 48-yard pass to Moses down the left sideline. The defense forced fumbles on the ensuing kickoff and the Falcons’ final drive of the first half.

Hendricken entered the break up 28-0 and held the Falcons to just more than 50 yards of total offense in the first half. Sophomore Chris Hindle took over for Toppa under center after the intermission.

Cranston West fumbled on their third consecutive drive to start the second half when senior linebacker John Arruda emerged from the scrum with his second recovery of the day, taking it 42 yards to the end zone. The Hawks’ defense remained stout, holding the Falcons to zero total yards on their first four possessions of the half with three plays going for negative yardage.

“Our goal was to come out and be physical today,” Croft said. “I think we did that. The kids rose to the challenge and we blocked out the weather. I think our defense played really well today. Good pass rush and good blitzing. We had some good pressure today.”

The Falcons offense got going late in the fourth quarter. An 8-yard touchdown run from Drew Watts to cap a 10-play, 82-yard drive gave Cranston West its first points of the afternoon. Watts had 34 rushing yards on the drive and Furtado’s 27-yard run set them up in Hendricken territory.

West recovered the onside kick and set up at about midfield with just over one minute to go in the game. Running back Abdiel Mendez found a hole on the right side and dashed 49 yards for a touchdown on the first play of their final possession.

Derderian contributed 29 rushing yards and senior running back Terrence Gibbs chipped in 38 yards for Hendricken. Moses’ lone catch made him the leading receiver on the day with 48 yards.

The Hawks, who are 6-0 in Division I, will host La Salle Academy at home this Friday at 7 p.m. The Rams have defeated five consecutive opponents by at least 10 points, but fell to the Hawks 7-0 in their Injury Fund matchup on Sept. 5. La Salle is undefeated in Division I play as wel, at 6-0.

Cranston West returns to action this Friday when it travels to East Providence High School to take on a struggling Townies squad at Pierce Memorial Stadium.

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