Football: Cranston West Defense Shuts Down Powerful Townie Attack

The Falcon defense bent, but they did not break.

Making multiple stops deep in their own territory, the Falcons preserved their lead in a game in which they never trailed over East Providence Friday night. With the 19-10 win, Cranston West has cemented its place as one of the best teams in Division I of the Rhode Island Interscholastic League.

Both teams came into this contest undefeated and hot. East Providence outscored their opponents 90-14 over their first two games, and Cranston West was coming off a nice road victory against Barrington. 

The inclement weather proved to be a difficult factor, as both teams fumbled numerous times, all of which were recovered until East Providence coughed it up on their own 40-yard line on their second possession, giving the Falcons a short field to work with.

Cranston West capitalized on the Townie miscue, putting together a methodical scoring drive. Falcon star running back Bryan Stetson caught a pass out of the backfield that was good for a 15-yard gain, and capped of the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run. The extra point was good and Cranston West was up 7-0.

The Falcons had great coverage on the ensuing kickoff and pinned the Townies back at their own 2-yard line. With the Falcons defense bearing down on them, East Providence was able to regain field position and more, as the Townies ran the ball with regularity, picking up first down after first down. All the plays on the drive were runs for East Providence, with Quarterback Brandon Peters and Fullback Jalin Braxton getting the majority of the carries. 

Braxton broke away from the defense and scored up the sideline, but the play was called back because of a holding penalty. 

Braxton had another run later in the drive, which he brought to the Falcon 3-yard line. But with four downs the Townies couldn't punch it in, and they turned it over on downs on the half-yard line.

The Falcons got a couple of first downs off of the turnover, but were forced to punt, and East Providence took over at midfield.

Brandon Peters picked up a first down on the ground, and then he found Damon Bradley on a crossing route for a 20-yard gain, bringing the Townies back into the redzone. But again East Providence would falter. The Townies fumbled and Beau Richards recovered for the Falcons on their own 10-yard line.

Cranston West would again take advantage of the mistake by their opposition, driving the length of the field for the score. Nicholas DeMarco had a 13-yard first down reception, but the majority of plays were runs, and Bryan Stetson found the endzone for the second time, putting the finishing touches on a 90-yard drive for the Falcons. Cranston West was unsuccessful on the extra point attempt and the game went to halftime with Cranston West leading 13-0.

Cranston West fumbled on their first drive of the second half, and gave East Providence the ball at their 40 yard line. 

Brandon Peters ran for a big gain on the QB sneak and brought it to the Falcon 15-yard line. Unfortunately for the Townies, this was as far as they got on the drive, and they were forced to kick a field goal. Dominic Leonardo put it through and East Providence drew their deficit to 10, at 13-3.

Cranston West was forced to punt on their next possession, and East Providence took over on their own 13-yard line. After a nice first down run from Eric Towne, Jalin Braxton busted a big run, good for a 75-yard touchdown. The Townies extra point was good, and the third quarter ended with Cranston West clinging to a 13-10 lead.

Cranston West put together a good drive to open up the fourth quarter, but it stalled out at the 20-yard line, where Xavier Ferland-Haroun and Nicholas DeMarco dropped passes on third and fourth down. East Providence took over on downs with six minutes remaining in the contest, but Brandon Peters promptly threw an interception.

Cranston west ran the clock down to 2:27, but fumbled on a fourth down play.

The Townies would again ruin their opportunity with another interception. Nicholas DeMarco picked off Brandon Peters and took it to the house for a touchdown, sealing the win for the Falcons. The scoreboard read 19-10 as time expired and the Falcons improved to 2-0 in league play and 3-0 overall on the season.

The offense struggled finishing off their drives in the second half, but the Falcon defense stood their ground and held off East Providence for the victory.

"The offensive squandered some opportunities," Cranston West Head Coach Steve Stoehr said

He continued,"But our front seven just kind of wrapped them up. And as they created the interceptions, which makes our secondary look that much better."

Cranston West stays at the top of the Division I standings and will face off against North Kingstown next week.