The Pilgrim football team fell to visiting West Warwick 19-7 in a Division III showdown last Friday night.

The Pats led in the second quarter 7-6, but the Wizards would score in the final seconds of the period and then in the opening drive of the third to extend its lead to 19-7. The Pats were not able to overcome the deficit as West Warwick held on to win.

The Wizards took the 6-0 lead early when they blocked a Pilgrim field goal attempt and returned it for a touchdown. Pilgrim responded immediately when Luka Ruscio returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown.

Pilgrim had a chance to build some momentum late in the second quarter when Dylan Rodrigues forced a fumble which was recovered by the Pats in the Wizards’ end zone. However, West Warwick came up with an interception on defense on the next drive and returned it to the Pilgrim 20-yard line. The Wizards would score a touchdown as the final seconds ticked off the clock before the halftime break.

The West Warwick offense rolled in the opening drive of the second half and marched to another touchdown to make it 19-7 which would be enough to get the victory.

“It was tough, they were having good drives and they owned the clock. They made some good plays in the first half. We had to dig deep there in the second half and we did. I’m proud of these boys for digging deep,” said Pilgrim’s Dylan Roberts, who finished the day with over 100 yards from scrimmage on offense. “I was just doing what was best for the team and playing my heart out, leaving it all on the field. As long as we leave it on the field, I don’t care about the scoreboard as long as we do that.”

The Wizards’ clock management in the end of the second quarter and early third proved to be pivotal in deciding the game, according to Pilgrim head coach Blake Simpson.

“It’s never a good thing. We made an incredible play with Dylan Rodrigues chasing the player down, popping the ball out and us recovering it in the end zone. Then with 1:20 left, we forced a throw and it ended up getting picked and led to the score. It definitely hurt us, especially with us kicking to start the second half. We fought for all four quarters, though, and we can’t say a bad thing about the way we played tonight,” said Simpson.

Despite the loss, the Pilgrim defense played shut down football for the majority of the contest. Simpson was happy with the unit’s outing.

“Defensively we played great. We gave up the boneheaded touchdown on the blocked field goal, they didn’t realize that a blocked field goal was still a live ball, and I’ll take responsibility for that, I guess we need to practice that a little more. Overall, defensively, we played good, especially playing without two of our key contributors tonight,” Simpson said.

The Pilgrim offense was never able to settle in, much due to the battle up front. The West Warwick defensive line caused fits for Pilgrim from start to finish.

“The way West Warwick was rolling with different fronts. Sometimes it was with three, four and five. We didn’t really prepare for them to do that. That’s on us as coaches, it’s on us to prepare these kids better for the future,” said Simpson.