Football: Falcons Dismantle North Kingstown; 47-7

Last night, the football team again boldly reminded the rest of Division I that they're the team to beat this year, overpowering the North Kingstown Skippers 47-7 at Cranston Stadium.

The Falcons felt some resistance early from the Skippers, but they turned things around in the second quarter, scoring four times and setting the pace for the rest of the game.

The Falcon's first drive moved them into deep into North Kingstown territory, but Bryan Stetson tried to get a little too fancy, moving laterally on his carry, and got tackled for a loss. This brought up 4th and 11 on the North Kingstown 22-yard line and the Falcons elected to go for it. The decision turned out to be a good one, as Matt Rousseau found Xavier Ferland-Haroun for the touchdown, giving Cranston West an early 7-0 after the extra point.

North Kingstown responded, putting together a methodical drive which was capped off by 10 yard touchdown reception from tight end Alexander Madoian, and the score was knotted at 7 with three minutes remaining in the first quarter.

After receiving the ensuing kickoff, the Falcons drove 67 yards in 4 plays, including a 50-yard rush from Joseph Ceraldi. That set up a 1st and goal from the Skippers' 6 yard line. North Kingstown's defense stepped up big, but Cranston West was also called on a holding penalty, resulting in a 4th and goal from the 2-yard line. North Kingstown stood their ground and stopped Bryan Stetson on fourth down at the 1-yard line.

Cranston West Head Coach Steve Stoehr said that moment was a turning point for his team and their play from that point forward was elevated.

"After they stuffed us on the one, I think our guys woke up and said, 'Hey we can't be doing this,'" Stoehr said.

The Falcons forced a 3-and-out, and on a short punt Cranston West took over at the 24-yard line.

The Falcons wasted no time with their good field position, and on the first play of the drive Matt Rousseau found from Bryan Stetson coming out of the backfield for a touchdown, making it 14-7 Cranston West.

North Kingstown took over on their own 25-yard line, and on 3 and 1, Nick DeMarco picked off Jacob Morris and took it to the house for a 34-yard interception return for a touchdown, stretching the lead to 20-7 for Cranston West.

North Kingstown again was forced to punt on their next possession, and the ball took an unfriendly bounce, resulting in a punt of only about 8 yards.

Bryan Stetson got the carry on first down and found the end zone for a 31-yard touchdown, giving Cranston West a three touchdown advantage at 27-7.

Cranston West never looked back from here, and went on to a 47-7 victory at home.

Bryan Stetson had a great game offensively, finding the endzone a second time in the second half and finishing with over 100 yards of total offense. Stetson had a nice game defensively as well, intercepting a pass in the second half.

"He found some holes, and he's a good ball player. And defensively he's getting much better," Stoehr said.

Joe Ceraldi had a good game as well, finding the end zone once on the ground and intercepting a pass on defense. Ceraldi, Stetson, and Nick DeMarco, all seniors, demonstrated their experience by getting the big plays done, even after failing some attempts along the way. Stetson was denied at the goal line but came back later and busted a long touchdown run. And Coach Stoehr said DeMarco's resiliency showed when he didn't let the coach yelling at him from the sideline shake his confidence.

"One thing that we noticed, even as a freshmen, Nick had a nose for the ball, and it seems that he still has that nose. But the play before that I was screaming at him because he was so slow getting out to the flat. And I was like 'Where were you.' And on the next play he comes back and intercepts the ball," Stoehr said.

DeMarco picks up his second interception return for a touchdown in as many games, and the Falcons improve to 3-0 in league play.

Cranston West will face off against South Kingstown at next Saturday, October 8th.