Football Notebook

Hawks still team to beat in D-I

By Matt Metcalf
Posted 11/12/15

By MATT METCALF

Sports Editor

A few thousand people, myself included, fought through the heavy traffic on Academy Ave. in Providence to get to the La Salle-Hendricken football game last Friday …

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Football Notebook

Hawks still team to beat in D-I

Posted

By MATT METCALF

Sports Editor

A few thousand people, myself included, fought through the heavy traffic on Academy Ave. in Providence to get to the La Salle-Hendricken football game last Friday night – a game that was supposed to be an absolute battle between a pair of comparable teams.

If anything, it was assumed that La Salle had the edge going in. It had the highest-scoring offense by far entering the rivalry matchup, not to mention that it was at home on senior night.

What the fans got was, not only a blowout, but a blowout in the other direction with Hendricken proving why it’s still the team to beat atop Division I.

The Rams came into the game at No. 1 in the Rhode Island Sports Media High School Football Poll because of their eye-popping numbers on both sides of the ball, easing past every opponent that they had previously faced. But it was clear from the opening snap that Hendricken was going to be the better team, at least on that given night.

The Hawks chased La Salle’s offense off the field right away by forcing a speedy three-and-out and, on Hendricken’s first offensive play, Kwity Paye jolted through the Rams’ defense for a 94-yard touchdown run.

Hendricken would go on to score eight touchdowns, including five in the first half. Its defense was equally impressive. The Hawks forced the Rams to turn over the ball six times, with two of those turnovers coming on interceptions by Andrew Hopgood.

Hendricken kept a team that was averaging 42 points per game to just 23, while more than doubling the amount of points that La Salle had surrendered in its first six games combined.

The win reminded me of one that came less than a year ago in the 2014 Super Bowl.

La Salle came in as the higher seed, but Hendricken ran away with a 32-7 win and a fifth consecutive title.

Last Friday, the top playoff seed was yet to be determined, but the Rams had previously edged out the Hawks in the poll.

The end result was the same, though, as the game wasn’t in doubt after no more than a few minutes.

There’s no question that La Salle certainly has the playmakers to beat Hendricken, with quarterback Jace Pena, running back Kyron Lopes and shifty receiver C.J. Waite headlining the previously explosive offense.

Maybe it’s simply a bad matchup for La Salle, but it should get another crack at Hendricken in a few weeks barring a major upset in the semifinals next week.

If that matchup does arise in the Super Bowl, the Hawks will have the mental edge after the all-around effort on Friday night in a Super Bowl-like game on the road.

Those who attended hoping for a good game didn’t get their wish. Rather, they got two teams who were assumed to be extremely close in talent, but in reality, were miles apart. It was a bit foggy to start the season, but Hendricken is now the clear team to beat. Only time will tell if the trend of Hendricken’s recent dominance over La Salle will continue.

- The Hawks will now turn their attention to 5-2 South Kingstown at home on Friday at 7 p.m. The Rebels have locked up a playoff spot, and if the Hawks win on Friday, the two teams will meet again next week at the same place in the D-I semifinals.

South Kingstown will put up a fight, but Hendricken won’t have a let down after its strongest performance of the season.

Score prediction: Hendricken 35, South Kingstown 14

- Pilgrim, which is coming off of a convincing 40-8 win over rival Toll Gate last Friday, will have its toughest test to date this week.

The Pats (6-1) will travel to undefeated East Greenwich (7-0) to take on the Avengers at 7 p.m. on Friday night.

East Greenwich boasts the division’s top offense and defense, scoring 317 points on the season, while giving up 91.

However, the Avengers haven’t faced an offense as good as Pilgrim’s yet this fall. The Pats are rolling into their biggest game of the season after winning five consecutive league games. They’re scoring an even 38 points per game, and I think this will be the week that somebody hands East Greenwich its first loss after the Avengers revealed some holes in their game two weeks ago. On Oct. 30, East Greenwich just escaped Lincoln with a slim, 27-24 win. Pilgrim hasn’t encountered a game that close as of late, clicking on all cylinders with its closest win margin coming in a 30-20 victory over Middletown.

This is definitely going to be a shootout.

These two teams can put up points like no other in the division. Look for Pilgrim to give the ball to Owen Kelly early and often to help keep pace with a potentially potent East Greenwich offense led by quarterback Nick Andreozzi.

The Avengers have several weapons on both sides of the ball, but so does Pilgrim. I believe that the Pats eek out a close, high-scoring win.

Score prediction: Pilgrim 38, EG 35

- Although Toll Gate was eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to Pilgrim last Friday night, it will have the opportunity to end its division schedule on a high note when it travels to Ponaganset on Saturday for a 10 a.m. game against the Chieftains. Ponaganset is currently 0-7 and has allowed a division-worst 285 points. The rushing attack of Alex Mowry, Sean Devlin and Austin Giard will be too much for Ponaganset to contain, as the Titans will close out their season at 4-4 with an easy victory.

Score prediction: Toll Gate 42, Ponaganset 12

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