The Tiverton Tigers rolled past visiting Toll Gate 52-30 in the Division IV Semifinals last Friday night.

Tiverton would quickly jump out to a 21-6 lead in the first quarter to set the tone. Although the Titans would pull within nine at 21-12 in the second quarter and threaten in the third, they were unable to overcome the deficit down the stretch as the Tigers pulled away with the victory to punch their ticket to this weekend’s Super Bowl against North Smithfield/Mount St. Charles.

“I couldn’t be happier with the way that they played. In the first quarter when we went down, they could have cashed it in but they didn’t. They played a good game, Tiverton is just a great team that is well-coached and has, what I believe, is one of the best quarterbacks in the state,” said Toll Gate head coach Jim Stringfellow.

Anthony Shaw returned a kick for a touchdown and rushed for another in the loss, while Kenny Morel also ran for a score. John Gyra added a score when he forced and recovered a Tiverton fumble in the end zone.

Toll Gate’s final opportunity to close the gap came in the third quarter, when Tiverton quarterback Matthew Gacioch exited with an injury and did not return until the fourth. Although the Titans had a chance to make up some ground, the Tiverton defense held strong until its offensive signal caller returned to action.

“I think if we could have capitalized when he was out then we may have had a chance, but we just couldn’t do it. We needed to strike twice, but we just couldn’t do it,” said Stringfellow.

Despite the loss, Stringfellow was proud of his team’s season in a competitive Division IV.

“The team did great (this season). We went 6-3 and there’s nothing wrong with that. We wanted to make the playoffs and we reached our goal. Of course, every team wants to make the Super Bowl, but we faced some really good teams. North Smithfield is a great team, Tiverton is a great team. Sometimes teams just have more dudes than you do. It was a total team effort between the players and coaches,” said Stringfellow.

The Titans will now flip the page to their upcoming Thanksgiving matchup against rival Pilgrim. Stringfellow is excited for the matchup and to get the ball rolling for 2020, when Toll Gate will return the large majority of its core.

“We only lose six guys. We lose a few backs, a couple guys on the line, but we are returning (Quarterback Greyson) Pasquina, Zach DeCorpo, we have a few kids playing JV that should walk right into their spots,” said Stringfellow. “We only are losing a few kids so we’re looking forward to bringing these guys back and making another playoff run.”