Cougars make homecoming worth celebrating

By PAUL R. DUBOIS

Breeze Sports Editor

NORTH PROVIDENCE - If there's a game you want to win as a high school football player other than Thanksgiving Day, it's when your school celebrates homecoming.

Putting forth their best offensive output of the season, the North Providence High School football team accomplished that goal on Saturday when they turned back Providence Country Day, 36-28, for their first win of the season.

"We knew coming in that they could score and that they put up 35 against Middletown and then 41 against North Smithfield, and we knew that we would have to get ahead and stay there because their defense isn't as strong as their offense," said head coach Glenn Williams. "Fortunately, that's the way it turned out."

It didn't start out that way.

Receiving the opening kickoff, PCD showed its offensive prowess right out of the gate and marched down field behind the strong running of Nate Morris and Andrew Mele, and when the Cougars concentrated on the run on an option play, quarterback Marquis Harper fired a strike to Mele, who took the ball in stride in the end zone. The PAT was good and PCD had a 7-0 lead.

The Cougars bounced right back behind the running of senior captain Mike Rossi. With the Cougar offensive line dominating and opening holes, Rossi ripped off gains of 15, 6, and 15 yards and then bolted into the end zone to make the score 7-6. Rossi also blasted into the end zone for the two-point conversion; the Cougars took the lead at 8-7.

PCD came right back behind the running of Morris and Mele, taking advantage of the huge offensive line, and scored the go-ahead six-pointer when Mele bolted in from two yards away. A Morris run for the conversion was successful, and PCD took a 15-8 advantage.

"They're very big on the offensive line, but while they are able to hold off the defenses, they're a little slow on defense, and we tried to take advantage of that," said Williams. "If they stacked outside, we ran inside, and if they plugged the middle, we went the other way."

With lineman Brenden Shea, Mitch Vierra, Gino Valiente and Brendan Marshall leading the way, the Cougars took the ensuing kickoff and began marching down field again. With Rossi, quarterback Anthony Pontrelli and Dan Dawson lugging the ball, the Cougars moved to the PCD one, but were stopped. PCD took over, but was unable to move and punted, but it was partially blocked, with the Cougars taking over on the PCD 14 yard line.

On the first play after regaining possession, Dawson, who had his best day in a Cougar uniform with 103 yards, bolted in from the left side. Dawson, stretching out as he neared the goal line, added the two-point PAT and the Cougars took a 16-15 lead that they would hold until half.

North Providence regained control of the ball and got down inside the PCD five before half, but time ran out before they could punch it in.

The Cougars took the kickoff to start the second half after homecoming ceremonies and Dawson launched a long kickoff return to the Cougar 38. After Nick Ayala battled his way for a key first down, the Cougars marched into PCD territory once again, but failed to earn a first down by inches on a fourth down play inside the PCD three and turned the ball over.

PCD took over, but on their first play, Ayala put on a big hit on the ball carrier, forcing a fumble and falling on the ball to give the Cougars good field position. On the first play after that uplift, Rossi bowled over a pair of would-be tacklers and pounded his way into the end zone as the Cougars extended their lead to 22-15. Rossi added the two-point PAT and the Cougars held a 24-15 lead.

Using their option play to perfection along with strong cutback running by Mele and Morris, PCD marched back and scored, cutting the margin to three, and then added the PAT on a kick by Nissenson and it was a 24-22 game with the Cougars holding on.

On the ensuing kickoff, Dawson fielded the ball and brought it back to the 50 yard line, and on the first play, Rossi started to the right, went left, and then cutback again to the left and found a gap, sprinting all the way into the end zone. The PAT failed, and the Cougars held a 30-22 lead. With Morris, Mele and quarterback Marquis Harper toting the ball behind the big line, PCD came right back to score on a long drive, with Mele doing the honors for the touchdown, but the all-important PAT was stuffed by North Providence, preserving the scant 30-28 lead.

The Cougars took the ensuing kickoff and Marc Manfredi returned it to the 31. Then with Manfredi, Rossi and Dawson sharing the ball-carrrying load, the Cougars put together one of their best drives of the season, eating up chunks of yardage and the clock as they moved down field until reaching the three yard line, when Manfredi bolted in for the score. The PAT failed, but the Cougars held a 36-28 lead.

PCD started marching up field on the last drive of the game, aided by a key penalty, but with the clock winding down, Harper threw a bomb into the end zone that Cougar safety Tom Doyle picked off, preserving the first win of the season.

"We'll need some help to get to the playoffs," conceded head coach Glenn Williams. "But we played pretty well today. Nick Ayala played an outstanding game, opening the holes for Dawson and Rossi."

The coach said he limited Manfredi's offensive carries because he wanted Manfredi, one of the team's best defensive players, to be fresh on defense, where he made numerous tackles.

"We still made our mistakes, but PCD's offense forced a lot of those with their big line and their cutback style of running," said Williams. "We've still got work to do, but it sure was nice getting that win on homecoming."

The Cougars, 1-4 in Division IV, travel to Central Falls Friday at 6:30 p.m. The Warriors are 2-3 in Division IV.