Cougar football team belted by Central Falls

NORTH PROVIDENCE - Going into the game at Macomber Stadium, it appeared that Friday night's match-up between the North Providence and Central Falls high school football teams was going to be a close encounter.

Trick or treat. The Halloween Eve game was a blowout, with the Warriors holding the full bag of goodies, 42-6.

Helping fill that bag were gifts from the Cougars, who had as many turnovers as could be found in a bakery during the holiday season.

"We just continually shoot ourselves in the foot," said head coach Glenn Williams. "We had five turnovers and you can't do that with any team and expect to have a chance."

Coming into the game, Central Falls had scored 98 points while allowing 121 while the Cougars had put up 64 points and allowed 94, so on paper it appeared to be an evenly matched game. It wasn't.

The loss was also significant because it means the North Providence team will end its season on Thanksgiving Day, with no hope of a playoff spot. The loss dropped the Cougars to 1-5 in Division IV, its worst showing in a decade. It will be the first time in Williams' three years as head coach that the Cougars will be on the sidelines when the playoffs start.

While the offense was coughing up the ball on a regular basis, the defense found itself on the field almost continuously, and it wore them down. As has been the team's trend all season, the Cougars received the opening kickoff and began a march down the field. They got inside the Warrior five when the defense stiffened and stopped North Providence cold. Central Falls took over on downs and after a pair of running plays netting zero, they took to the air.

From his own three, Warrior quarterback Steven Vazquez hit Robert Alers with a pass. Alers eluded tacklers and bolted all the way to the end zone, a 97-yard play, to give the Warriors the lead.

"We had that play defensed with two people and we tipped the ball, but it went right to the receiver and once he had it, we knew it was over because he's really quick," said Williams.

But North Providence answered. After the kickoff, senior captain Mike Rossi took a handoff and bolted 75 yards for a score and at the end of the first quarter, it was a 6-6 game.

The Cougars would not see the end zone again, while the Warriors, taking advantage of three interceptions and a pair of fumble recoveries, rolled up nearly 400 yards in offense. They also blocked a Cougar punt for good measure.

Vasquez, only a sophomore, torched the North Providence secondary for 217 yards in passing, completing eight of his 12 tosses, two of them for touchdowns. He also ran one in from a yard out.

"Their quarterback and receivers are very good, and we had problems defending them," said Williams. "I think it just got into our heads that we couldn't stop them. We moved the ball okay, like I thought we would, but then we made our mistakes and they took advantage."

But it wasn't just the aerial attack that stung the Cougars. Running back Antonio Mena also did some heavy damage, rushing for 181 yards and a pair of scores, including an 81-yard touchdown scamper.

Central Falls put up 20 second quarter points to none for North Providence, and walked off the field at half holding an insurmountable 26-6 lead.

Central Falls added touchdowns in each of the third and fourth quarters to close out the scoring.

The news doesn't get much better for the Cougars. They host first place Middletown on Friday at 6:30 p.m. and will close out the regular season on Nov. 14 when they host North Smithfield. On Thanksgiving, the team will travel to Smithfield for a 10:30 a.m. contest.