The Toll Gate football team enters its final week of the regular season with a game against Exeter-West Greenwich on tap. A win could help propel the 1-6 Titans to the Division IV playoffs.
The Titans have struggled as of late, most recently dropping a 34-8 decision to Scituate on the road. The team’s lone win cam against Hope back in September, and the Titans have been trying to keep pace in the division as its roster has been bitten by the injury bug.
Regardless, the Titans are focused on a strong finish and their continued rebuild moving forward.
“We’ve talked about (the playoffs) a little, but we’ve got a long way to go to be at the top of the heap of our league,” said Toll Gate head coach Jim Miceli, who has been happy with his senior leadership during the up and down campaign. “We don’t have many seniors, but the ones we do have have helped us tremendously.”
Although the Titans are in the midst of a losing streak, they have seen some players emerge as of late. Brayden Healey has caught fire in recent weeks and has been leading the team in receiving, while Tony Merola has contributed at running back while taking home multiple 100-yard performances. Jack Colvin will also be asked to step up in the finale as he will be taking over quarterback duties as Nick Bruner went down to injury against Scituate.
With a large core of underclassmen set to return next season, Miceli hopes this year will help pave the way for growth, especially with so many youngsters seeing extended playing time thanks to some of the absences on the roster.
“It’s going to help. This is a team with very few seniors and a few of them are hurt. We have a lot of juniors playing, a lot of sophomores playing. Anytime you get experience it helps,” said Miceli.
The Scarlett Knights bring a 2-5 record into this weekend’s finale and also need a win to qualify for the postseason. Miceli expects them to play their best football of the season come game time.
“(EWG) is a well-coached team. They’ve played better as the year’s gone on, they’ve improved each week. They’re playing their best football right now,” said Miceli.