Upsets are bound to happen in any sport. On Saturday afternoon those in attendance at Cranston Stadium saw what could go down as one of the biggest upsets of the football season.
Division I's Cranston East matched up against Classical High School, who compete in Division III. The Purple made a statement in the beginning portion of the game with two defensive touchdowns and held a 35-0 lead just before halftime. They won the game 49-22.
Classical senior Kwami Moreno picked off Thunderbolts quarterback, captain Kyle Tracy, and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown. Only a minute and a half into the game, the Purple led 7-0.
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After forcing a three and out, Classical's offense did not take long to move the ball down the field. Patrick Comerford's 42 yard scamper into the end zone gave the Purple a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
Cranston East picked up their only first down of the first quarter with just under five minutes remaining, on a 4th and inches quarterback sneak. However, their momentum was short lived.
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Only two plays after the Bolts first first down, Classical junior Derek Jackson's pick six, gave his team a 21-0 lead. He returned the interception 45 yards for the touchdown.
"The interceptions we returned for touchdowns changed the game and got us going," Classical's coach, Kristen McCall said, "We came out on fire and executed very well."
Early in the second quarter, East was driving down the field and stringing together first downs. However, a fumble at Classical's 40 yard line was recovered by the Purple, ending any scoring threat.
Classical senior Rassmeay Morm caught a slant pass from Timothy Eng and it ended in a 28 yard touchdown. They now led 28-0 with just over seven minutes left in the second quarter.
One of the biggest plays of the first half came on a 3rd and 14 for Classical at their own 8 yard line. Jackson gained 34 yards on the hand-off and at the end of the play, East was assessed a 15 yard roughing penalty. The ball was placed on the Cranston East 43 yard line, as the play resulted in 49 yards gained for Classical.
Jackson capped off the drive with a four yard touchdown run up the middle, increasing the lead to 35-0 with about two and a half minutes remaining in the first half.
The Thunderbolts finally showed some life and Tracy ran the two minute drill with ease, taking his team down the field. Captain Robert Borrelli caught a 16 yard touchdown pass from Tracy in the back corner of the end zone. The extra point was missed and East trailed 35-6 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Bolts got off to a strong start, keeping momentum on their side. A defensive stand forced a three and out and Jabari Alves returned the punt along the left sideline for a 50 yard score. Borrelli caught the two point conversion and East trailed 35-14.
On a critical third down play, Morm's reception across the middle gained 32 yards. Classical's Freddy Antonien reeled in a 23 yard catch, moving the chains to East's 23 yard line. Eventually, Eng scored on a two yard touchdown, padding the lead to 42-14, with just under five minutes in the third.
Late in the third quarter, Moreno's bone crushing hit resulted in another defensive touchdown for Classical. On a 4th and 9 play, the ball was tipped in the air and caught by Bolts senior Brian Tran on the left sideline. Moreno lined him up and leveled Tran, and teammate Nicholas Graham returned the fumble 57 yards for the touchdown. Classical went on to win the game 49-22, pulling off the huge upset and jump-starting their season.
"We have a lot of potential, but before today we had not put together a full game of good football," McCall added.
