Crusader Jayvees top Washington County

By KAYLA PANU

Sports Writer

PAWTUCKET - The Pawtucket Crusaders Junior Varsity team finished up its Rhode Island Pre-Teen Football League regular season on a high note, shutting out the Washington County Raiders, 36-0 on Sunday.

Pawtucket jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter after shutting down the Raiders at the 34-yard line, and never looked back. The Crusaders dominated the game scoring in every quarter while maintaining solid defense.

"The defense did very well, clogging up the middle," Crusader defensive coordinator Michael Daneau said.

The Crusaders took over at the 34-yard line after stopping the Raiders in the first quarter. The ball was handed to Joseph Binda, who blazed down the side of the field for the touchdown and 6-0 lead.

With the momentum on their side the Crusaders kicked off into Raider territory, and Binda pounced on it before any Raider player could get it at the 25-yard line. The Crusaders then ran in another touchdown, their second one in about a minute. Binda scored the extra points for the 14-0 advantage.

The Raiders on their next possession were forced to punt on fourth down to give the Crusaders the ball back to start the second quarter. Binda and Isaiah Diaz took turns running and ripped off good yardage. With the ball on the Raiders 37, Binda once again broke loose and took it all the way to the house as the Crusaders took a 22-0 lead into half.

"The Jayvee guys did good," Daneau said. "They didn't make too many mistakes and were good in the back field."

The second half also favored the Crusaders, who scored again on their first possession of the third quarter. They strategically moved the ball to the 10 yard line from the 45 with several running plays. At the 11, Binda was given the ball again and padded their lead to 28-0 by once again racing into the end zone for a six-pointer. The extra points were good again to put the Crusaders out ahead 30-0.

The Crusaders continued the beating on defense, not letting the Raiders even go near the end zone.

"They did a very good job tackling," Daneau said. "They made the proper adjustments from tackling low."

Minus the first quarter, Pawtucket had possession of the ball at the start of each quarter and that continued in the fourth. The Crusaders started the quarter at the 45, and stayed with their running plays that had been successful all day.

On the first play, Travis Almonte grabbed the ball and ran it until he was tackled at the 39. Matthew Almonte brought it to the 35 before Travis got it to the 27. Then on a scurry down field, Matt Almonte was pushed out of bounds at the 13-yard line.

Travis Almonte ended up running the ball into the end zone from the seven yard line for the final score of the game and the 36-0 victory.

The closest the Raiders got the scoring was on a drive that landed them at the 24-yard line, but it wasn't good enough as the Crusaders regained the ball and the game ended.

The Crusaders will now focus on the playoffs and are looking to make a good push forward, Daneau said.